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A minimum of 16 persons have died after a enormous fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the death toll could rise.

Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire department stated.

Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in looking for their family members still unaccounted for.

The blaze, which erupted at the factory around midday, was extinguished after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services reported.

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 established which of the two buildings was the origin point.

Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also releases hazardous smoke when combusted.

Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director briefed journalists.

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

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

Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.

"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he told news media.

The catastrophic occurrence has once again highlighted the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs millions of workers and is a major provider of economic income for the country.