A man was stabbed and several people were crushed on Thursday when 6,000 bargain-hunters flocked to the midnight sale of a new IKEA furniture store in north London, emergency services said. Five people were taken to hospital, one with chest pains, while 22 people suffering from heat exhaustion and crush injuries were treated by ambulance crews.
The Swedish furniture giant was forced to close the store in Edmonton after 30 minutes when it was overwhelmed by shoppers hoping to buy heavily discounted items.
Police said a man in his 20s was stabbed in the store's car park 90 minutes after the shop opened and was taken to hospital where his condition was stable.
IKEA said on its Web site the stabbing was a separate incident from the crush.
John Olie, IKEA's deputy UK manager, said the numbers that turned up were far greater than expected.
"We were totally shocked and overwhelmed by what happened: we could not have predicted it and are really, really sorry," he told BBC radio.
The store remains closed.
It is not the first time IKEA bargain hunters have been hurt. Last September three men were trampled to death in a rush to claim vouchers when IKEA opened its first store in Saudi Arabia.
Shopper Jolene Cooper told Sky News what happened.
"There were 500 people behind me and they were all trying to get through a three-foot gap," she said of her experience outside the store's entrance.
"The staff kept on trying to shut the doors and not let anyone in, so all the people behind were pushing me. I was really scared."
Shortly after midnight there were 1,000 cars queuing to get into the car park with some bargain-hunters abandoning vehicles on the busy North Circular road to get to the store on foot.
The store had been offering huge discounts, including leather sofas at 35 pounds ($65) for customers arriving between midnight and 3 am, as part of a planned 24 hours of opening bargains.
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