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No fewer than 16 persons have died after a massive fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the death toll could increase.

A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned impossible to identify, the firefighters said.

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

The blaze, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services confirmed.

Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources indicated.

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

According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Polymer products also releases toxic fumes when combusted.

Security personnel are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director briefed the media.

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

Weeping family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.

Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.

"When I was informed of the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he told journalists.

The catastrophic occurrence has yet again highlighted the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a crucial provider of export earnings for the nation.