TV viewers in Australia were given a devilish surprise this week after a news broadcast suddenly cut to footage from a satanic ritual.

The incident occurred during a segment on Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) nightly news bulletin detailing the introduction of a new law that could see criminals handed prison sentences for hurting police animals

Just as the segment was about to end, the feed suddenly cut to a brief clip featuring three individuals on a stage alongside an illuminated upside-down crucifix.

Two of the three were standing up dressed in robes, while the other one could be seen sitting in front of what appears to be a keyboard.

One of the robed men, who is dressed entirely in black, raises his hands in the video, while the words “hail Satan” are audible on the brief clip.

Seconds later the broadcast cut back to news anchor Yvonne Yong who, despite managing to keep a straight face, appears to be aware of the mix-up.

After a momentary pause, she continued on to the next news item.

The incident was picked up on Twitter by ABC’s Mediawatch account, which shared the clip, writing “ABC’s satanic slip-up. What was going on here?”

At the time of writing, the video has been viewed over 159,000 times on social media.

ABC TV has so far failed to provide an explanation as to what happened.

According to Insider, the footage featured on the news broadcast comes from a Facebook video published by the Noosa Temple of Satan, a Devil worship group based out of Queensland, Australia.

The clip unwittingly featured on the ABC TV bulletin reportedly originates from a Facebook live stream conducted by the group on October 30. It can be seen around the eight-minute mark of the video, which can be viewed here.

The Noosa Temple of Satan has commented on the clip’s surprise inclusion in a Facebook post with the group sharing a link to the ABC Mediawatch tweet, alongside the comment: “Our hero…”

The group also shared a link to a story covering the incident, commenting alongside it: “Satan works in mysterious ways…..”

Led by Brother Samael Demo-Gorgon, or Robin Bristow as he was formerly known, the Noosa Temple is a religious organization dedicated to the celebration and promotion of Satanism in Australia.

“We emphasize the virtues of free-thinking and rebellion against Christian authority.'” a statement on the group’s website says.

“We revere Satan as a figure who symbolizes rebellion against tyrannical or arbitrary authority,” it adds.

Newsweek has reached out to the Noosa Temple and ABC TV for comment.