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No fewer than 16 individuals have died after a enormous fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the fatality count could rise.

16 bodies have been retrieved but were burned impossible to identify, the firefighters stated.

Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in search of their loved ones still unaccounted for.

The inferno, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, authorities confirmed.

Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources reported.

Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.

Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also produces poisonous gases when ignited.

Police and military officers are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official briefed reporters.

An inquiry on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he noted.

Tearful family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.

Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.

"When I heard about the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to journalists.

The tragic incident has another time emphasized the security issues plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a major contributor to export earnings for the South Asian economy.