A photograph authentically shows a "suicide pod" designed for assisted suicide sitting in a Swiss forest, where it was used by a U.S. woman to take her own life.

Several arrests were allegedly made on Monday after a 64-year-old American woman used a “suicide pod” to kill herself in northern Switzerland. The first-ever use of the Sarco pod took place “under a canopy of trees” near a woodland cabin in Merishausen,

The Sarco pod was created by Dr Philip Nitschke, the director of pro-euthanasia group Exit International. It is a 3D printed capsule, explicitly designed for use in assisted suicide. Those inside the pod press a button, which causes the chamber to flood with nitrogen gas, reducing oxygen levels so rapidly that the person loses consciousness.

Swiss police have arrested several people after a controversial futuristic-looking capsule designed to allow its occupant to commit suicide was used for the first time, authorities said on Tuesday.

A 64-year-old American woman used the "suicide pod" in Switzerland, becoming the first to die with this self-initiated euthanasia device. The Sarco pod, designed by Philip Nitschke, uses nitrogen hypoxia to induce death without medical assistance.