A fire broke out at a residence in Taichung's Dali District (大里) overnight, killing a 26-year-old mother and her two daughters, local authorities said.
The Taichung Fire Department responded to the fire that broke out at 12:10am by sending 21 fire vehicles and 48 firefighters to the scene, the department said in a statement.
Photo copied by Chen Chien-chih, Taipei Times
When the firefighters arrived, they saw smoke and flames coming from a sheet metal-covered unit built on top of a two-story brick building on Zhongxing Road.
The fire was brought under control within 30 minutes and fully extinguished by 12:40am, firefighters said, adding that the blaze consumed furniture and miscellaneous items, covering an area of about 40m².
Three female victims — a five-year-old, a seven-year-old and a 26-year-old — were discovered in a room in the third floor structure.
They were later identified as a mother and her two daughters.
None of them had vital signs and were pronounced dead at the scene, rescue personnel said.
Firefighters found that the front section of the third-floor unit was set up as a shrine and that the mother and her daughters lived in a room behind it.
They suspect that the three were asleep when the blaze occurred and were unable to escape in time.
A preliminary investigation by police identified the homeowner as the mother's boyfriend, who was not in at the time.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
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