Dozens of people in Denmark were forced to spend the night in an IKEA after a massive snowstorm hit and trapped them inside.
As the department store housing IKEA Aalborg closed on Wednesday, Nov. 3, up to 30 centimeters of snow fell, trapping six customers and 21 staff inside.
“We couldn’t just kick them out and close the door behind them when we closed at 8 pm,” store manager Peter Elmose told local outlet Nordjyske. “Absolutely not. So of course they would stay here, and we would also figure out some accommodation for them for the night..”
Along with the other customers and staff, staff working in the toy shop in the department store who was also trapped slept over in the showroom, according to Danish public broadcaster DR.
“We slept in the furniture exhibitions and our showroom on the first floor, where we have beds, mattresses, and sofa beds,” Elmose told the Ekstra Bladet, the Guardian reported.
“There was a completely free choice between all the beds, and it was quite good to sleep in,” Erik Bangsgaard, a 75-year-old customer, told TV2 Nord.
“It’s much better than sleeping in one’s car. It has been nice and warm and we are just happy that they would let us in,” Michelle Barrett, a toy shop staff, told DR.
The group spent the evening watching TV and eating, Elmose said.
“It was a really nice evening, enjoying each other’s company,” Elmose said, according to EuroNews. “Everyone had a full night’s sleep, our mattresses are good.”
In the morning, the group then enjoyed a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and coffee before they left the store and staff tidied up the beds with clean bedding for the store’s reopening at 10 am.
The snowfall heavily impacted parts of northern Denmark, and 300 people spent the night in Aalborg’s airport, according to the BBC.
