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At least 16 individuals have lost their lives after a enormous fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the death toll could climb.

16 bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire service reported.

Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in seeking their family members still not found.

The fire, which broke out at the factory around midday, was put out after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities said.

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

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

Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also emits toxic fumes when combusted.

Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told the media.

An investigation on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he added.

Crying family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.

Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his family member.

"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he stated to journalists.

The catastrophic occurrence has once again underscored the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages numerous of workers and is a crucial contributor to foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.