Only person at scene speaks out as controversial suicide pod is used for first time

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

The only person present at the first Sarco death has spoken out on the assisted suicide pods operating in Switzerland.

Created by Dr Philip Nitschke, the devices promise a painless, quick method of suicide.

Sarco — short for ‘sarcophagus’ — are 3D-printed capsules mounted on a stand that contains a canister of liquid nitrogen.

The canister is activated by the person in the pod through a button.

The 10-minute process decreases the oxygen levels in the pod, with patients expected to lose consciousness within one minute and die within the next nine.

On September 23, a 64-year-old woman from the US became the first person who died in a suicide pod.

Sarco pods are meant to provide patients with a painless death. (The Last Resort/Exit International)

Dr Florian Willet, co-president of The Last Resort Association who created the pods, was the only person present for the death of the woman, whose identity hasn’t been disclosed to the public.

Speaking on her passing, Dr Willet described it as ‘peaceful, fast and dignified’.

According to a on The Last Resort website, the death took place in open air, ‘under a canopy of trees, at a private forest retreat’ in the Canton of Schaffhausen close to the Swiss-German border.

Dr Nitschke said he was ‘pleased that the Sarco had performed exactly as it had been designed to do: that is to provide an elective, non-drug, peaceful death at the time of the person’s choosing’.

Meanwhile, police detained 'several people' with a criminal case opened in connection to the woman’s death. Prosecutors have launched an investigation on suspicion of incitement and accessory to suicide.

A police investigation has been launched into the first pod death. (The Last Resort/Exit International)

A statement reads: "The public prosecutor's office of the canton of Schaffhausen was on Monday, 23. September 2024 at 4:40 p.m. from a law firm that an accompanied suicide with the capsule Sarco had taken place in the afternoon at a forest hut in Merishausen.

"As a result, the Schaffhausen police, including the criminal investigation service and the public prosecutor's office of the canton of Schaffhausen, went to the crime scene. In addition, specialists from the Forensic Institute Zurich (FOR) and the Institute of Forensic Medicine Zurich (IRMZ) were called in.

"The suicide capsule Sarco was seized and the deceased person was taken to the IRMZ for autopsy. In addition, several people were put in police custody in the Merishausen area.

"The public prosecutor's office is also examining the violation of other criminal offences.”

All forms of euthanasia are illegal in Switzerland, whilst assisted suicide — supplying the means for dying to someone else — is legal as long as the action which causes death is performed by the person who wishes to end their life.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.