At least 16 people have died after a fire broke out in a garment factory and a nearby chemical warehouse in Bangladesh.

Officials say the death toll is expected to rise as rescue efforts continued on Tuesday.

"Sixteen bodies have been recovered from the second and third floors of the garment factory," fire service director Tajul Islam Chowdhury said, adding that the number of deaths could rise as recovery operations were continuing.

He said the cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

The fire broke out at around midday on the third floor of the seven-storey factory in the Mirpur area of the capital Dhaka, before spreading to a chemical warehouse storing bleaching powder, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, Talha Bin Jashim, another fire department official said, citing witnesses.

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