A solicitor, acting for five families who believe their relatives were among 58 bodies found in the Dutch-registered lorry, says eight others had tried to join the channel crossing on Sunday.

He soon realised how lucky he was

Solicitor Wah-Piow Tan

Wah-Piow Tan said they were turned away because there was not enough room in the refrigerated compartment.

There were only two survivors from the group who made the journey, who may be the same group of Chinese illegal immigrants thrown out of Belgium in April.

Police in the UK have arrested three people in connection with the incident and Dutch police are holding two more in the Netherlands.

Lucky escape

Mr Tan was contacted on Wednesday by the family of one of the eight turned away from the lorry.

He said: "There were eight lucky survivors who should have got on the truck but were turned away because there was not enough room.

More immigrants were turned away because the container was full

"One of them called his family in China when he heard of the deaths to let them know that he was all right.

"He was swearing and cursing when he wasn't allowed on the truck but he soon realised how lucky he was."

Mr Tan said he believed the eight have gone to ground in Holland or Germany.

One of Mr Tan's clients is asylum-seeker Yang Chen, who believes his cousin Chen Lin, 19, was among the dead.

He has told the lawyer Mr Lin raised £14,000 for his trip and called home regularly during a four-month journey through China, Russia, Czechoslovakia to Western Europe.

Mr Tan said other relatives may be scared to come forward for fear of deportation.

He called on Home Secretary Jack Straw to offer an immigration amnesty to people who believe their relatives died on the truck.

He said: "We worry they will be treated like criminals. They need assurances that they will not be investigated."

Arrests

Dover magistrates agreed a 24-hour custody time limit extension for Kent police questioning the Dutch lorry driver, who was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after the gruesome find.

A Kent Police spokeswoman said a man and a woman, both of Chinese origin, were arrested in London on Tuesday and are being held in custody at a Canterbury police station.

Dutch police have arrested two people, including the 24-year-old owner of the trucking company involved in the incident.

They have set up a team of 35 police officers at Zwolle and also sent three officers to Britain to aid the investigation.

The two survivors found in the container have been questioned briefly by specially-trained police officers using interpreters.

'Wild goose chase'

Belgium and British police have started checking fingerprints of a group of Chinese migrants fitting the description of the victims who were detained in Belgium in April.

But Mr Tan doubts they were the same.

"The information I have received is at least one of those people in Belgium was identified as someone who has already arrived in the United Kingdom so I think that might well be a wild goose chase," he said.

Anyone with information should ring Kent Police's casualty bureau on 0645 441551.