The tragedy unfolded in the Yaroslavl region near Dievo-Gorodishche. On March 20, five people vanished under the Volga ice as a group exploration went awry. The Mash Telegram channel noted that Dmitry Svirgunov, founder of the Cream Soda project, marked his birthday not far from his mother’s home.
Officials in Nekrasovsky district stated that a company of ten planned a night trip to the village of Chentsy across the ice. On the return, the ice broke apart, sending five people into the water about 350 meters from shore. The current was running fast, and three individuals were pulled under while two managed to reach safety. Local authorities confirmed the devastating turn of events. — Source: regional authorities and investigative updates.
76.ru cited law enforcement sources naming Dmitry Svirgunov, 35, along with his 25-year-old brother Roman Svirgunov and friends Aristarkh Ukhtomsky, Georgy Kiselev, and Valeria Derman as those who fell through the ice. The report also noted that a 27-year-old man survived by getting out on his own, while three others born in 1988, 1997, and 1994 remained unaccounted for. The Investigative Committee of Russia in the Yaroslavl region shared these details. — Source: investigative briefings.
Valeria Derman managed to escape and was hospitalized. Aristarkh Ukhtomsky died despite rescue attempts. Oleg Belovoshin, head of the Regional Center for Civil Defense and Emergencies, stated that the man pulled from the water was in critical condition and, remarkably, was kept alive by rescuers for about two hours. Belovoshin added that the prognosis for locating the missing individuals remained bleak. The group had reportedly violated a no-access ice zone. — Source: regional emergency services statements.
Official confirmation from Cream Soda, the band’s management group, acknowledged that their founder had fallen through the ice. The message said that Dmitry Svirgunov, his brother Roma, and their friend Gosha Kiselev were still being searched for by the Ministry of Emergencies, while Aristarchus Ukhtomsky had been rescued but could not be saved. Following the incident, regional authorities and the prosecutor’s office opened an investigation. — Source: company statement and authorities.
Reports indicated that divers continued to work as night turned to day. Oleg Belovoshin provided updates on the ongoing search and explained that the body of one of the missing individuals had been found. He noted a ban on ice access in the area, a rule that the group reportedly ignored. The weather conditions also influenced the pace of the search. — Source: Belovoshin’s briefings.
In a later update, Belovoshin described the moment when one of the three missing persons was recovered within 40 meters of the ice pit, with the remaining two still missing as divers pressed on. He emphasized that the shifting current in that location was extremely powerful and that search efforts would continue as long as weather permitted. — Source: Ministry of Emergency Situations spokesperson.
RIA Novosti, citing regional emergency services, reported the death of Dmitry Svirgunov and noted that his relatives identified his body. Telegram channel 112 echoed the same confirmation. Meanwhile, the search for the other two missing individuals persisted. A friend of Dmitry shared that the last online activity on his VKontakte page occurred at 2:53 am, showing a country home near Dievo-Gorodishche where the group had previously visited during the pandemic. The day before, friends had posted clips from Dmitry’s birthday celebration. — Source: regional press and social posts.
Former Cream Soda member Anna Romanovskaya shared on social media how she learned of the tragedy. She described filming an underwater sequence the night before and expressed disbelief at the events that followed. She recalled how the river near their usual writing spot had become the place of such loss, saying they had walked there many times together. The post captured the raw emotional impact felt by the group’s circle. — Source: interview excerpts and social posts.
Cream Soda, an electronic pop duo formed in 2012 by Dmitry Svirgunov and Ilya Gadaev, had a notable career arc. They released the album Beautiful in collaboration with Ivan Dorn’s Masterskaya label in 2018 and began working with the comic project Chicken Curry on a channel that aired their videos. In 2019 they issued the album Comet. The 2020 collaboration with Khleb produced a cover of their hit I Cry for Techno, a track that dominated Russian digital platforms and accrued tens of millions of views on its video. Later that year, they released the mini-album Intergalaxy before continuing to release singles. — Source: band discography and press coverage.