The Sarco will not be operated in Switzerland either by Pegasos or by EXIT.
Instead, it will be managed by an operator called “The Last Resort”. This new collective, run by lawyers Florian Willet and Fiona Stewart, is an offshoot of EXIT International.
It has not yet been used for the first time. A new “first user”, has, however been identified and a date has been set. The time and place of the event remain confidential, as does the identity of the first user. There are, apparently, a further 75 potential users proceeding through the application process.
Some light has been cast upon the cost and the funding. Fiona Stewart revealed in July that the development costs of the Sarco to date had been in the region of €600,000, sparking immediate speculation as to where that had come from. The sources have now been clarified as “generous benefactors”, donations and legacies from estates.
The Last Resort is currently insisting that use of the Sarco will be free. The funeral and related costs will be 1,400 Swiss Francs but there will be no charge for the use of the Sarco itself, other than a tiny charge for the nitrogen. In view of the necessary medical opinions, logistics and general administration it seems inevitable that a substantial charge will have to be made at some point in the future.
