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At least 16 persons have perished after a huge fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the fatality count could climb.

A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred impossible to identify, the firefighters reported.

Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in seeking their loved ones 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, authorities reported.

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

Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings ignited initially.

Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also produces hazardous smoke when combusted.

Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters.

An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he noted.

Crying family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.

Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.

"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to journalists.

The devastating event has another time highlighted the security issues facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs numerous of workers and is a crucial contributor to economic income for the nation.