Ford recalling 190 Ranger pickups in Canada

Ford is recalling another 2,900 Ranger pickup trucks including 190 in Canada because they have been linked to two deaths due to defective Takata airbag inflators.

The automaker urged in a release on Thursday for owners to stop driving the trucksimmediately after becoming aware last monthof a crash in West Virginia, that happened in July, involving a 2006 Ford Ranger. The driver in that accident was killed. It wasthe second such fatality linked the same model and year, following another accidentin January 2016.

Both Rangers were equipped with Takataairbag inflators builton the same day.At least 21 deaths worldwide have been linked to the Takata inflators, whichcan rupture and send deadly metal fragments into the driver's body.

"Ford is saddened by these tragic losses and offers its sincere condolences to the drivers' families," the company said.

Ford had previously recalled some 391,000 Rangers from various model-years,but the vehicles in the new recall are all 2006 models built at the Twin Cities Assembly Plant in Minnesota from Aug. 10, 2005 toDec. 15, 2005.

The recall involves approximately 2,902 vehicles located in North America, with 2,712 located in the United States and190 in Canada.

The company has set up a website where drivers can check their vehicle identification numbersto see if their truck is included in the recall. If it is, their instructions are quite clear: Stop driving it, now.

"We take this matter very seriously and are advising owners of these specific 2006 Ford Rangers to stop driving their vehicles so dealers can make repairs immediately," Ford said. "Dealers are prepared to get vehicles directly from customers, make permanent repairs that will resolve the safety risk and provide a free interim loaner vehicle, if necessary."

Takata said last summer that it has recalled, or expected to recall, airbags in about 125 million vehicles worldwide by 2019, and 19 differentautomakers worldwide are impacted.

The defect led Takata to file for bankruptcy protection in June, but the company still faces multiple lawsuits.