A young girl’s life was saved after by a group of young men after she reportedly attempted to jump into a turbulent river to complete a suicide challenge referred to “Blue Whale.” Individuals involved with yet-unsubstantiated “Blue Whale” suicides and the variants of the challenge are referred to by local media as “death groups.”

Local news outlets Kavkazsky Uzel reported the incident occurred Saturday in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in the Russian Caucasus, and an apparent video of the incident was posted on YouTube Sunday. Having been viewed more than 40,000 times by Tuesday, its Russian caption reads, “Saving the girl during the execution of a dangerous task from the group of death in Nalchik.”

The footage shows the young girl in overalls descend a grassy river bank while the young men yell, “Stop. Stay right there. Wait,” RT reported Monday. The girl — who RT does not identify but reports is 15 — can be seen in the video ignoring their calls, at which point the clip skips and next seems to show her struggling in the river.

Read: Blue Whale Challenge: Authorities Warn Parents, Teens About App That Encourages Self-Harm, Suicide

The three men reportedly followed her into the water and “dragged her ashore,” according to RT, but the video does not depict it. The next frame shows the girl barefoot and ostensibly back in safety. RT reported that she told rescuers that she jumped into the river as part of the “Blue Whale” challenge:

“She later told her rescuers that she performed the stunt as part of the challenge from the ‘Blue Whale’ social media game which has been linked to a string of teenage suicides in Russia. When asked if she was aware that her actions could have led to her death, the girl replied “yes” and laughed. She also explained in the video that she got involved with the ‘Blue Whale’ game because “it’s cool… It’s adrenalin.”

She was reportedly examined by paramedics, and local police have launched an investigation into the event, RT reported.

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While the “Blue Whale” challenge was widely covered, there’s little evidence to suggest that any such trend is claiming the lives of teens in Russia or elsewhere. The game is presented as a series of challenges over a period of 50 days, which culminates with the final challenge of suicide. It’s demographic is reportedly young teens, but at least one adult individual has been linked to the “Blue Whale” phenomenon.

Read: Young Teen Girls’ Suicide Rate Has Recently Tripled, CDC Report Finds

As Bloomberg reported in April, 21-year-old Philipp Budeikin was arrested in November and currently being held prison in St. Petersburg on charges of inciting teenage girls to commit suicide. Budeikin was suspected of being among the first “curators” of the game. The apartments of other “death group” administrators were also searched. Budeikin, who reportedly has bipolar disorder and suffered abuse as a child, reportedly told local press that his victims were “biological waste.”

A report on the “Blue Whale” game by Bloomberg pointed to one example of a mother finding the game in the online activity of her 12-year-old daughter, who had committed suicide. However, as Bloomberg points out, correlation does not equal causation — though teens already struggling with suicidal ideation may actively seek out like-minded communities.

If you or anyone you know is contemplating suicide, contact the free and confidential National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Blue Whale

Photo: YouTube

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