This past September, I stepped inside a Whole Body Cryotherapy chamber to see what all the fuss was about. After reading about LeBron James and other world class athletes who had braved minus 280-degree temperatures in the name of recovery, I made my own appointment and experienced it for myself. Unfortunately for 24-year-old Chelsea Ake-Salvacion, stepping into a cryochamber for a few minutes after work turned into a fatal decision.

“I do know that she was alone closing the shop up, and then did go into the machine and apparently did not turn off,” Shae-Lynn Bee, Ake-Salvacion’s friend, told KSNV News. “It’s very frustrating to know because you know there are no cameras in there. Basically, the only person that does know what happened is Chelsea.”

Ake-Salvacion, an employee at the Rejuvenice beauty salon in Las Vegas, reportedly entered the cryochamber at her place of work sometime after her shift on Tuesday. She had recently sat down with the Las Vegas Review-Journal to discuss the benefits of jumping into a cryotherapy chamber. The piece would eventually get published on Thursday, but she wouldn’t get a chance to read it. Medical examiners say the Hawaii native “froze to death” within seconds after entering the machine.

According to authorities from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Ake-Salvacion’s body stayed in the cryochamber for at least 10 hours before her fellow employees found her. Although the results of her autopsy are still pending, authorities reported that she was attempting to operate the machine by herself and most likely suffocated. Investigators have ruled that an “operator error” led to her death.

Ake-Salvacion’s death is alarming for a number of reasons. For me, it’s the thought that this could have been me (be more dramatic, Justin). While I did have my doubts going into my Whole Body Cryotherapy appointment, the staff at Overtime Sports Facility were very reassuring when it came to safety concerns. They made it very clear that the minus 280-degree temperature would have no adverse effects as long as I kept it under three minutes.

They also stressed one of the most important aspects of the treatment: Never step into the machine unattended. Ake-Salvacion, who by all accounts “knew exactly what she was doing,” had operated the machine a number of times. Even though I at no point felt my life was in jeopardy while spending two and a half minutes in a cryochamber, it’s easy to understand the potential risks. Before you consider making your own cryotherapy appointment, decide if the potential benefits outweigh the risks.