Police are investigating whether the tragic deaths of two Russian half-sisters were linked to the notorious so-called Blue Whale suicide 'game'. Maria Vinogradova, 12, and her sibling Anastasia Svetozarova, 15, were found dead on a snowy pavement beneath their apartment block in Izhevsk. Blue Whale and other similar online death groups are said by police to prey on depressed young people. Police are to study the girls' phones and computers for any traces that such suicide groups had sought to exploit their emotions or guide them towards taking their lives. Four months ago Major-General Alexey Moshkov, head of anti-computer crime K department in the Russian Interior Ministry, warned that in 2017 a total of 1,339 online suicide groups had been uncovered, with an audience of more than 12,000 users and over 200,000 posts.

Source: Daily Mail February 20, 2018 11:23 UTC