Police officers have described the chaotic scene of a desert retreat where three people died after attending a sweat lodge ceremony.

Deputy Craig Bollen and Detective Ross Diskin have revealed what happened at the Spiritual Warrior camp in Sedona, Arizona, where three people died and 18 were injured, in 2009.

The camp, which was run by James Arthur Ray, cost each participant more than $9,000 and gave them the opportunity to experience the sweat lodge ceremony on the fifth and final day of the retreat.

More than 50 guests were together in the 415 square foot lodge and during previous ceremonies, which Mr Ray oversaw, some had struggled psychically.

Mr Ray warned guests that while in the sweat lodge, they would be sick and feel like they would die, but he refused to help them when they asked for assistance.

Speaking on an episode of Oxygen’s Deadly Cults, Mr Diskin said that when they first arrived at the camp, they immediately thought it was a cult.

“I remember as I was driving down there I could see this large dome covered in tarps, and I begin noticing women with their heads shaved walking around almost in a daze,” he said.

“I thought ‘This has got to be some kind of cult.’”

Mr Bollen also feared the worst when they arrived at the scene, describing it as “utter chaos.”

He added: “In my mind I was thinking it was a mass suicide, because I’ve never had a call with that many people needing assistance.”

The participants engaged in fasting and sleep deprivation, in the days leading up to the sweat lodge.

Mr Bollen revealed that this affected them, as there were more than 50 people who needed medical assistance when they arrived, many of whom were lying on the ground, unable to move.

He said that “there was so many people, my walls came down, I didn’t know what to do.”

Mr Ray was convicted of two negligent homicides and spent 20 months in prison, before being released in 2013 and attempting a comeback as a motivational speaker.

The victim's families do not believe Mr Ray should be able to work again, and one told the Daily Mail: “I don’t think he has the right to work with people.”