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At least 16 individuals have perished after a enormous fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the number of victims could rise.

16 bodies have been found but were burned impossible to identify, the fire department said.

Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their family members still not found.

The blaze, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials reported.

Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports said.

Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings ignited initially.

Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also releases hazardous smoke when ignited.

Police and military officers are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director informed reporters.

An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.

Crying family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.

Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his family member.

"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he expressed to journalists.

The devastating event has once again underscored the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages millions of workers and is a significant provider of export earnings for the nation.