Officials from the Turkish embassy in Dublin were today aiding gardai in their bid to identify the eight dead and five sick refugees found in a freight container that arrived here from Europe.

The condition improved today of five refugees who survived a bid to smuggle them to Ireland in an enclosed freight container in which eight of their companions died, doctors said.

Efforts to identify eight refugees who died in a freight container after being smuggled into Ireland were being stepped up by today as five survivors of the ideal remained critically ill in hospital.

The condition of the five survivors found in a sea container in Wexford yesterday morning has stabilised, but they remain seriously ill in hospital.

Preliminary post mortem results on the bodies of eight refugees found inside a freight container in Wexford are expected later this morning.