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A minimum of 16 people have died after a huge fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the death toll could climb.

Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned beyond recognition, the firefighters stated.

Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in search of their family members still unaccounted for.

The inferno, which started at the factory around noon, was put out after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities reported.

As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports indicated.

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

According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also produces hazardous smoke when ignited.

Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury briefed the media.

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

Weeping family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.

Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.

"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to news media.

The catastrophic occurrence has yet again emphasized the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs millions of workers and is a crucial provider of economic income for the nation.