Authorities said that British police arrested a Sudanese man on suspicion of endangering life after four migrants drowned while trying to 'cross the Channel from France...to....Britain in a small boat.

Britain's National Crime Agency, which investigates organised crime, said the 27-year-old was arrested on Friday following the incident which ?occurred off the coast of Saint-Etienne-au-Mont, near Calais in ?northern France, on Thursday.

According to the NCA, the man was arrested in a processing centre located in Manston (southern England) on suspicion of "endangering another while traveling by sea into the UK" under the new 'Border Security Asylum and Immigration Act'. The man was not identified and could not be reached by a representative to comment.

The NCA said that the four victims, who were two men and two woman whose identities are not yet known, died as they attempted to board a water-taxi, which is increasingly used by smugglers to avoid police.

The report added that 38 people were returned to French shores after the incident while?74 migrants continued on to Britain.

Keir starmer, the Prime Minister of Britain and his predecessors have been adamant about tackling illegal immigration. (Reporting and editing by PhilippaFletcher; MuvijaM.)

(source: Reuters)