"EU nations will coordinate their efforts with Europol, the bloc's law enforcement agency, in detecting and dismantling the criminal networks involved in this trafficking and by adopting severe sanctions against those involved in this serious and despicable crime," EU leaders said in a statement.

An "evil trade" Jack Straw told the Commons

Speaking at the two-day EU summit in Portugal, Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok said the discovery of the bodies in the refrigerated truck showed the "intense necessity" for more effective measures.

"Words fail to describe how serious the situation is," he said. "The trade in human beings is increasing by leaps and bounds."

International co-operation

French President Jacques Chirac said the EU must act quickly to increase joint actions in immigration and asylum matters.

"The dramatic deaths of 58 illegals, discovered in Dover, spark legitimate and considerable emotions worldwide," he said.

The two surviviors will be questioned by police as soon as possible and are likely to hold vital information about the illegal consignment.

The driver of the lorry, which arrived from Zeebrugge, Belgium, just before midnight, has been arrested.

Three Dutch police officers are travelling to Dover to help the UK police with their investigations.

The lorry carrying the 60 immigrants was carrying tomatoes

Authorities in Holland have not yet been able to establish the full route of the lorry which carried the suspected illegal immigrants - but a spokesman said it may have started in Rotterdam.

The National Public Prosecution Office in Holland has described the company that owns the lorry as a "one-man operation" run by Arjen Van der Spek. It was only registered last week.

The spokesman said police had made inquiries at Mr Van der Spek's home but no arrests have been made.

The 54 men and four women discovered in the lorry were of Chinese origin and are thought to have paid to make the secret crossing.

Home Secretary Jack Straw has blamed traffickers with "no regard for human safety" for the deaths.

No surprises

In a statement to the House of Commons on Monday he said those who died were the victims of a "profoundly evil trade" and said their fate would serve as "a stark warning to others who might be tempted to place their fate in the hands of organised traffickers".

A Customs and Excise spokeswoman said the officer who discovered the bodies had already undergone counselling to cope with the shock.

The scene has been cordoned off

Mark Pugash, of Kent Police, said it was still too early to say how the people died, but officers have not ruled out the possibility that the victims suffered carbon monoxide poisoning or suffocated.

He confirmed that the lorry was an airtight 18-metre-long container which was only partially loaded with fresh tomatoes.

Its refrigerating unit was not switched on and it remains unclear what the interior temperature would have been.

Nick Hardwick, chief executive of the Refugee Council, described those responsible for trafficking as "reckless, callous international criminals".

He told the BBC: "Unless there's a much better system for managing migration overall then people will go on putting themselves in these very dangerous situations."

The government has recently taken action over the large numbers of illegal immigrants coming through British ports, including £2,000 fines for anyone caught with stowaways.