Seven face Dover death charges

The victims arrived in a sealed refrigerated lorry

Police in the Netherlands are to charge seven people with the manslaughter of 58 Chinese immigrants who died as they were being smuggled into the southern English port of Dover.

The immigrants had suffocated inside a refrigerated lorry during a journey from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. Two people survived the journey.

A Dutch lorry driver has already been charged in the UK with manslaughter.

Police believe the immigrants boarded the lorry at this warehouse

Menngs Garretsen, a spokesman for the Dutch Illegal Human Trafficking Unit, said: "All seven suspects will be charged with manslaughter and people smuggling on Friday."

He said all the suspects, all from the Rotterdam area, had been arrested over the past week.

One is a 24-year-old owner of a transport company.

Dutch police said an international arrest warrant had been issued against another suspect who had not yet been detained.

Another man was detained and released after several days.

'Criminal organisation'

Detectives in the Netherlands believe they have now traced the site where the immigrants were loaded into the Dover-bound lorry - a warehouse in Waalhaven, on the harbourside in Rotterdam.

The Dutch public prosecutor said police now had a "pretty clear picture of the criminal organisation suspected of smuggling Chinese people".

Lorries are searched daily for stowaways

The Dutch driver facing manslaughter charges in the UK has been remanded in custody after appearing before magistrates in Folkestone.

Two Chinese people have also been charged in the UK with conspiracy to facilitate the immigrants' illegal entry.

Police forces in the two countries have been working closely together on the case.

"The Netherlands and Great Britain have exchanged a number of detectives in order to optimise the effectiveness and efficiency of both investigations," Mr Garretsen said.

Identify

A spokesman for Kent Police said: "We are aware that further arrests have been made in Holland and have been continually liaising with our Dutch counterparts."

Work has been continuing to identify the 58 people who died. Police in the UK believe they now know who most the immigrants were.

A group of officers from China is due to arrive in the UK in the next few days to help with the inquiry.