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No fewer than 16 people have perished after a huge fire erupted at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the fatality count could climb.

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

Distraught relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in looking for their family members still missing.

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

As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, news sources indicated.

Fire department authorities have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.

According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Polymer products also emits poisonous gases when combusted.

Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official informed journalists.

An probe 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 lost relatives.

Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.

"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he told journalists.

The tragic incident has yet again underscored the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages countless of workers and is a crucial source of export earnings for the South Asian economy.