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No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a enormous fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the death toll could climb.

Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned impossible to identify, the fire service said.

Distraught relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their family members still not found.

The inferno, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, officials said.

Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts said.

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

According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also releases toxic fumes when burned.

Police and military officers are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the fire service official told reporters.

An inquiry on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he noted.

Tearful family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.

Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.

"When I was informed of the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to reporters.

The devastating event has another time underscored the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs millions of workers and is a major contributor to export earnings for the nation.