Unregistered Taiga Ritual Ends in Rescue Mission

A group of 13 tourists is stranded in the remote Siberian taiga after venturing into the wilderness for an unregistered religious ceremony. According to reports from the Telegram channel Shot, the party—11 women and 2 men—traveled to the North Sosva river area in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug on two snowmobiles with trailers. They did not register their expedition with authorities.

The situation turned urgent when the group made a radio call for help, stating they could not find their way out. They have not provided details about what went wrong. It is currently unknown if anyone is injured. Rescue teams are now en route to locate and extract the stranded individuals.

This incident highlights the dangers of unplanned travel into Russia's vast and unforgiving northern forests. It follows other recent, unresolved disappearances in similar terrain. In Krasnoyarsk Krai, for example, searches for the Usoltsev family—a couple and their five-year-old daughter who vanished during a day hike last September—were briefly resumed in late January. Despite extensive efforts, no trace of them has been found. Authorities continue to treat their case as a probable accident, underscoring the persistent risks these landscapes pose to the unprepared.