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No fewer than 16 persons have lost their lives after a huge fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the fatality count could increase.

16 bodies have been found but were incinerated impossible to identify, the firefighters said.

Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their loved ones still missing.

The inferno, which started at the factory around midday, was extinguished after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services confirmed.

As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts reported.

Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.

According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also produces hazardous smoke when burned.

Police and military officers are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director told reporters.

An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he noted.

Tearful family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.

Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.

"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he stated to news media.

The tragic incident has another time emphasized the security issues affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a significant source of export earnings for the country.