A fire broke out Tuesday at a garment factory and adjacent chemical warehouse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing at least 16 people and injuring others, with authorities warning the death toll could rise.

The blaze began on the third floor of the four-story factory before spreading to the warehouse storing bleaching powder, plastic, and hydrogen peroxide.

Fire officials said neither facility had approval or fire safety plans, and workers were trapped due to locked exits and toxic gases from a chemical explosion.

Relatives searched desperately for loved ones, many of whom may only be identified through DNA due to severe burns, NBC News has reported.

Bangladesh has a history of deadly garment-industry accidents, including the 2012 Tazreen Fashions fire and the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse, highlighting chronic safety failures in a sector employing 4 million people and contributing over 10% of GDP.