Man in custody over fatal English Channel illegal migrant crossing

British police have arrested a Sudanese man on suspicion of endangering life after four illegal migrants died while attempting to cross the English Channel from France to Britain on a small boat this week, authorities said.

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.

The man was arrested at a processing centre in Manston, southern England, on suspicion of, "endangering another during a journey by sea to the UK," under the new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, the NCA said. He was not named and Reuters was unable to reach a representative for comment.