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A minimum of 16 individuals have perished after a enormous fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the number of victims could climb.

A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire department reported.

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

The blaze, which broke out at the factory around midday, was put out after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, officials confirmed.

Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports reported.

Fire service officials have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.

Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also emits poisonous gases when ignited.

Police and military officers are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed the media.

An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he noted.

Weeping family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.

Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.

"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to news media.

The catastrophic occurrence has another time highlighted the security issues affecting Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a major source of export earnings for the South Asian economy.