A handout picture released by The Last Resort, an assisted dying group, on Sept. 24, and taken on the morning of Sept. 23, shows the Sarco pod at the location where it was allegedly used by a 64-year-old American woman who "died using the Sarco device" at approximately 4:01 p.m. on Sept. 23.Photo by AFP PHOTO/THE LAST RESORT

Swiss police open investigation into use of 'suicide capsule'

Assisted suicide group Exit International said a 64-year-old American woman had died Monday using the 'Sarco' device

by · National Post

GENEVA — Police in northern Switzerland said Tuesday that several people have been detained and a criminal case opened in connection with the suspected death of a person in a new “suicide capsule.”

The “Sarco” capsule, which has never been used before, is designed to allow a person sitting in a reclining seat inside to push a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber. The person is then supposed to fall asleep and die by suffocation in a few minutes.

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