Swiss police detain several people in connection with suspected death in a 'suicide capsule'

GENEVA (AP) — 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 “suicide capsule.” The “Sarco” capsule, which has never been used before, is presumably 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.

Exit International, an assisted suicide group based in the Netherlands, said it is behind the 3D-printed device that cost over $1 million to develop. Swiss law allows assisted suicide so long as the person takes his or her life with no “external assistance” and those who help the person die do not do so for “any self-serving motive,” according to a government website. ___ EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide.

If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org . The Swiss government refers queries about suicide prevention to a group called “Dargebotene Hand,” or The Offered Hand.

A law firm informed prosecutors in Schaffhausen canton that an “assisted suicide” involving the Sarco had taken place Monday near a forest cabin in Merishausen, regional police said in a statement, adding that “several people” were taken into custo.