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.

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.

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,

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.

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.

The so-called “Sacro capsule” was invented by Philip Nitschke, a former physician and an assisted suicide advocate who said the alleged victim “really wanted to die.”