The manager of a Nevada cryotherapy salon was found dead on Wednesday morning, after she became trapped in a frigid cryochamber overnight.
Authorities have confirmed that Chelsea Ake, 24, entered the chamber while closing up her Rejuvenice location in Henderson, NV, on Tuesday night. Somehow, she accidentally got locked inside for at least 10 hours until her body was found the next morning by her employees. By that time, Ake had long since either frozen to death or suffocated within the chamber, which can reach temperatures as low as minus 240 degrees Celsius.
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The authorities have ruled that the death was due to “operator error” rather than any malfunctions with the machine. Unfortunately, according to Ake’s best friend Shae-Lynn Bee, the salon was not monitored by cameras so there is no visual evidence to confirm exactly how the accident occurred.
News report on Ake’s death.
“It’s very frustrating to know because you know there are no cameras in there,” Bee told KSNV News3, an NBC affiliate based in Las Vegas. “Basically, the only person that does know what happened is Chelsea.”
“I do know that she was alone closing the shop up, and then did go into the machine and apparently it didn’t turn off,” Bee said.
Whole-body cryotherapy has a wide range of applications, both medical and cosmetic, but this type of therapy has become particularly popular among athletes for relieving sports-related injuries and soreness. Cryosaunas and cryochambers like those offered by Rejuvenice work by immersing customers in frigid temperatures, which decreases inflammation and muscle tension. The maximum amount of time recommended for this form of therapy is three minutes.
Perhaps Ake’s death will lead to better safety measures for these cryochambers. But for their part, Ake’s friends and family hope that she will be remembered more for her enthusiasm in life than the freak accident that caused her death.
“I just want everybody to know she was awesome and she loved everybody,” Bee said. “Her legacy will definitely move on through us.”
