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A minimum of 16 people have died after a enormous fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the death toll could rise.

Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire service said.

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

The inferno, which erupted at the factory around noon, was extinguished after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services said.

Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts said.

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

Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also emits poisonous gases when ignited.

Police and military officers are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told journalists.

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

Crying family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.

Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.

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

The devastating event has yet again emphasized the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs countless of workers and is a crucial source of foreign revenue for the nation.