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No fewer than 16 people have lost their lives after a huge fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the death toll could climb.

Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred impossible to identify, the firefighters said.

Distraught relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their family members still missing.

The fire, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after several hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, authorities said.

As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, media reports said.

Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.

Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed industrial bleaches, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also releases hazardous smoke when ignited.

Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official briefed the media.

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

Tearful family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them holding 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 haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he stated to journalists.

The devastating event has another time underscored the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs countless of workers and is a crucial source of export earnings for the nation.