Police in northern Switzerland say several people have been detained and a criminal case opened in connection with the suspected death of a person in a new “suicide capsule.”

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 are investigating the first public use of the Sarco Pod, a suicide capsule, following the death of a 64-year-old American woman.

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 capsule was invented by Dr. Philip Nitschke, a proponent for assisted suicide who is nicknamed “Dr. Death"

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.

The Swiss police said they had detained “several individuals” after a 64-year-old American woman reportedly died by suicide using the controversial device.

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

An innovative but contentious assisted suicide device known as Sarco has ignited a legal frenzy in Switzerland.