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No fewer than 16 individuals have lost their lives after a massive fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the fatality count could increase.

16 bodies have been found but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire service stated.

Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in seeking their family members still missing.

The fire, which started at the factory around noon, was brought under control after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services reported.

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

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

Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also produces poisonous gases when combusted.

Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director briefed reporters.

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

Crying family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.

Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.

"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 expressed to journalists.

The tragic incident has once again underscored the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a major contributor to foreign revenue for the nation.