On Thursday, the Government recalled thousands of Simplicity and Graco cribs, cautioning that babies might choke or strangulate in them.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said that the Simplicity recall was related to at least one death and entailed thousands of cribs, probably hundreds of thousands, although several had formerly been recalled for other faults.

The agency said that around 217,000 Graco dropside cribs manufactured by LaJobi were also being recalled.

The problem with both kinds of cribs shoots from hardware breakdowns.

In the instance of the Graco-branded wood cribs, the side that moves up and down, the dropside can crack or detach, forming a perilous gap between the crib mattress and dropped side. A baby can become ensnared and stifle or strangle.

Till date, CPSC and LaJobi have got 99 complaints of dropside problems with the cribs. However, there was no serious damage involved.

A retrofit kit will be available to customers to stop the dropside from moving, making all four sides of the crib immobile.

According to the Commission, in 2008, a 1-year-old baby in North Attleboro, Mass., was entrapped in his Simplicity crib and choked.

Agency Spokesman, Scott Wolfson said, "CPSC urges all parents and caregivers to not attempt to resell any Simplicity crib to thrift store, at a yard sale or online. These recalled cribs have killed far too many babies and need to be kept out of homes and daycare centers".