The Sarco suicide pod has been used for the first time, its creators have confirmed, with an American woman aged 64 believed to be the first person to have died in the device.
Police in northern Switzerland said that several people were detained on Monday, and that a criminal case had been opened.
The 'Sarco' suicide capsule is designed to allow a person 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.
Prosecutors in Schaffhausen canton were informed by a law firm that an assisted suicide involving use of the Sarco capsule had taken place Monday near a forest cabin in Merishausen, police said in a statement.
It said 'several people' were taken into custody and prosecutors opened an investigation on suspicion of incitement and accessory to suicide.
The 'Sarco' pod, which creators say allows its occupant to push a button and trigger their own death
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