The American retail giant Target has issued an urgent recall of more than 200,000 weighted blankets after two children reportedly died from being trapped inside them.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said on Thursday that it was working with Target to recall about 204,000 Pillowfort children's weighted blankets sold between December 2018 and the end of September 2022.
It said the shopping chain had received four reports of children becoming trapped inside the blankets' cover, including two four-year-old and six-year-old girls who reportedly died in North Carolina this April.
Anyone who bought the blankets should stop using them immediately and contact Target for a refund, by phoning 800-440-0680 or visiting this web page.
"A young child can become entrapped by unzipping and entering the blanket, posing a risk of death by asphyxiation," warned the CPSC in its bulletin.
Weighted blankets exert a heavy pressure on anyone lying underneath them, similar to the pressure of being hugged.
They were originally created to relieve anxiety among autistic people and others with unusual sensory needs, before becoming widely popular.
The Pillowfort blankets, priced at $40 each, were designed specifically for children and measured about 60 by 40 inches, with a removeable washable cover which some children apparently unzipped and crawled inside.
The blankets came in eight colours schemes: white with printed unicorns, pink with printed unicorns, navy blue with printed planets, navy blue with printed constellations, plain pastel pink, plain navy blue, plain grey-white, and red and black plaid.
