Coroner: Cryotherapy worker died from lack of oxygen

By Pashtana Usufzy

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015 | 3:17 p.m.

A 24-year-old employee found dead last month in a cryotherapy chamber at the Rejuvenice spa in Las Vegas died from lack of oxygen, and her death has been ruled accidental, according to a statement from the Clark County Coroner’s Office.

Chelsea Patricia Ake-Salvacion was found Oct. 20 in a phone booth-sized chamber at the spa, located at 8846 S. Eastern Ave., near East Pebble Road.

She told her boyfriend the night before she was found that she intended to use the machine alone, according to her uncle, Albert Ake of Reno.

Nitrogen cools the environment in the chamber, and the exposure to the cool is promoted as a way to relieve pain and increase blood circulation, among other things.

The nitrogen creates a low-oxygen environment in the chamber, and “breathing air with this low level of oxygen can quickly result in unconsciousness and then death,” according to the statement from the Coroner’s Office.

“It could not be determined whether Ms. Ake-Salvacion was standing or not when she became unconscious, and it is not clear how long she was in the chamber before she passed away,” the statement said.

There’s also no evidence that Ake-Salvacion tried to leave the chamber after getting in, according to the statement.

Two Rejuvenice locations were closed after Ake-Salvacion’s death due to a lack of appropriate business licenses and company permits.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.