12 killed in south China building fire

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) – At least 12 people were killed in a residential building fire Tuesday night in Shantou city in south China’s Guangdong province, authorities said on Wednesday.

The fire erupted at 9.21 pm local time (1321GMT) in the Chaonan district and was extinguished by around 10 pm (1400GMT), the district fire department said early Wednesday, according to Xinhua News.

Preliminary investigations showed that the building was a four-story, self-built concrete structure, and that the blaze affected nearly 150 square meters around it.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, which came after a deadly blaze on Nov. 26 killed 159 people in Hong Kong.