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At least 16 persons have lost their lives after a enormous fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the fatality count could increase.

A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned beyond recognition, the fire department stated.

Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in search of their loved ones still unaccounted for.

The inferno, which broke out at the factory around midday, was extinguished after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services reported.

Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports reported.

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

According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also releases hazardous smoke when burned.

Police and military officers are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed journalists.

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

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

Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his family member.

"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to news media.

The tragic incident has another time underscored the security issues affecting Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a significant source of economic income for the country.