This is the heartwarming moment Good Samaritans form a human chain after a mother and her child fall through thin ice on a lake.

Dramatic footage shows the locals forming a human link while lying on the ice to distribute their weight and avoid falling through Lake Turgoyak in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, on December 8.

They can then be seen rescuing the mum and her child, pulling them from the icy water.

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said: 'In the Chelyabinsk region, a woman and a child fell through the ice on Lake Turgoyak. The head of the family and bystanders came to the rescue.

'They formed a chain of people and managed to pull them out. They did not require medical assistance.'

The Ministry also explained how to help someone who has fallen through the ice.

They said that the first thing to do was to call emergency services.

Then rescuers should 'crawl towards the victim'.

They explained: 'From three or four metres away, throw a rope, tied items, or any other improvised tool to the drowning person; Pull the victim out while crawling, lying down, without approaching the hole in the ice.'