The fire erupted at 9:20 PM on 9 December on the first floor of a 4-story house located on Dan Phuong street, Chao Nan district, Shantou city, Guangdong province. Firefighters successfully extinguished the blaze by 10:00 PM, where they discovered 8 victims deceased at the scene.
Four additional victims were rushed to emergency care, but they also succumbed to their injuries. All 12 deceased were members of the Ngo family, who had operated a hardware store from the house since 2010, primarily selling household goods, electronics, and tools.
Mr. Ngo's daughter reported that the deceased included her parents, paternal grandmother, younger brother, and several grandchildren. Her older brother was not present at home during the incident, and only his wife managed to escape the fire.
Video footage of the incident shows the fire originating from one room on the first floor, which functioned as the family's store. The intense flames illuminated a street corner at a time when only a few individuals were passing by.
According to an announcement from the Chao Nan fire department, the affected building was a self-built residential structure constructed with reinforced concrete, spanning an area of about 150 square meters. Authorities are currently investigating the precise cause of the fire.
By Hong Hanh, adapted from News China
