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A minimum of 16 individuals have lost their lives after a huge fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could increase.

A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were incinerated unrecognizable, the firefighters stated.

Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in looking for their loved ones still unaccounted for.

The inferno, which erupted at the factory around midday, was put out after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse remained ablaze, officials confirmed.

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 determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.

According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Polymer products also releases hazardous smoke when combusted.

Security personnel are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director informed journalists.

An inquiry on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also currently underway, he added.

Weeping family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.

Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.

"When I heard about the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he told journalists.

The catastrophic occurrence has another time emphasized the security issues plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages numerous of workers and is a crucial provider of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.