Furniture giant Ikea on Tuesday said it was recalling more than 35 million chests and dressers in North America after six children died in the United States when they tipped over, reports AFP.


The recall by the Swedish company, the world's largest furniture seller, affects 29 million units sold in the United States and 6.6 million units sold in Canada, according to Ikea and safety regulators in the two countries.


The recalled items are "unstable if they are not properly anchored to the wall, posing a tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in death or injuries to children," Ikea North America said in a statement. "If you have, or think you have, one of these drawers... please act immediately," said Elliot Kaye, head of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). "We're imploring you."

Speaking at a news conference in Washington, Kaye illustrated the tip-over danger by having personnel from his office use a 28-pound (13-kilo) dummy dressed as a young girl hang from the top drawers of Malm furniture. The empty bureau tumbled down on the dummy in repeated demonstrations.

Eight million of the recalled items in the United States are Malm model chests and dressers, and 21 million additional children's and adult chests and dressers. All were manufactured between 2002 and June 2016.

Image: Ikea tweeted this picture of a defective chest of drawers that tip over.