Shantou: 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.

According to Anadolu Agency, 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.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the building was a four-story, self-built concrete structure, and the blaze affected nearly 150 square meters around it. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the fire, which follows a deadly blaze on Nov. 26 that killed 159 people in Hong Kong.