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A minimum of 16 persons have perished after a huge fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the number of victims could increase.

A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were charred beyond recognition, the firefighters said.

Heartbroken relatives converged outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in search of their family members still unaccounted for.

The inferno, which broke out at the factory around midday, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials reported.

Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts indicated.

Emergency responders have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.

According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also releases hazardous smoke when burned.

Security personnel are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official informed the media.

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

Weeping family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching 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 have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he told journalists.

The catastrophic occurrence has yet again highlighted the security issues plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages numerous of workers and is a major source of export earnings for the South Asian economy.