The Sarco suicide pod was used for the first time this week in Switzerland prompting headlines around the world and arrests from Swiss police. The space-age-looking Sarco capsule, which fills with nitrogen and causes death by hypoxia,

A 64-year-old woman from the US recently died by suicide using the Sarco suicide pod at a woodland retreat in Switzerland.

The "Sarco" capsule is designed to allow a person sitting inside to push a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber.

Following the death of an American woman in a so-called suicide capsule in Switzerland and the arrest of several people involved in her death, a Swiss bishop said the device is "dangerous" and that people willing to use the capsule should be deferred to palliative care instead.

Criminal proceedings have been launched against “several people for incitement and aiding and abetting suicide,” police said.

A controversial 'suicide capsule' was reportedly used for the first time in Switzerland by an American woman from the Midwest.

The Sarco suicide capsule is supposed to provide a peaceful death via asphyxia with nitrogen gas. The first user, an American woman, became unconscious within two minutes and died within five minutes.