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At least 16 people have perished after a enormous fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the death toll could increase.

Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were incinerated beyond recognition, the fire service stated.

Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their family members still unaccounted for.

The inferno, which started at the factory around midday, was put out after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials confirmed.

Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources said.

Fire department authorities have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.

Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also releases poisonous gases when combusted.

Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director told journalists.

An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.

Tearful family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.

Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.

"When I heard about the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to news media.

The catastrophic occurrence has once again highlighted the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs countless of workers and is a major provider of foreign revenue for the nation.