Cryotherapy centre ordered shut after worker is found frozen in liquid nitrogen chamber

Nevada officials have ordered the closure of a cryotherapy centre just outside Las Vegas where police say a worker was found dead and frozen last week in a liquid nitrogen chamber that exposes a person's body to extremely cold air.

The facility operated by Rejuvenice LLC was ordered closed on Tuesday because it could not provide proof it had a worker's compensation insurance policy, said Teri Williams, spokeswoman for the state Department of Business and Industry.

The move to close the facility just outside the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson comes a week after Chelsea Ake-Salvacion, 24, was found dead of an apparent accident at the centre on October 20.

Ake-Salvacion's death has raised questions about the regulation of whole-body cryotherapy, which was offered at the clinic. The treatment has in the past few years become increasingly popular in the United States, especially with professional athletes and celebrities.

Supporters of whole-body cryotherapy say it helps with recovery from injury or intense exercise and can improve mood. A person walks into a chamber that exposes the body to air hypercooled by liquid nitrogen to temperatures as low as minus 151 degrees Celsius, while the person's head remains outside.

Ake-Salvacion was discovered dead in a chamber at the facility by another employee who called police, authorities said.