Ikea stampede

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Three people were trampled to death this week at the opening of a new Ikea store in Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city. As a promotional measure, the Swedish furniture company was offering $130 vouchers to the first 250 people to show up. Around 10,000 eager customers thronged outside the store and surged forward as soon as the doors opened. Ikea offered its “deep sorrow over the tragic incident” and said it would re-evaluate future discount offers and review its crowd-control measures.