A teenager has been charged in connection with the ill-fated Channel crossing that claimed the lives of four asylum seekers earlier this week.

Ibrahima Bah, 19, is accused of facilitating the attempted illegal arrival of those onboard a boat that sunk off the coast of Dungeness in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The incident sparked a huge rescue mission that saw 39 people safely brought to shore, but left at least four others - including a teenager - dead.

A widespread search for any remaining survivors or bodies was called off on Thursday.

The circumstances surrounding the deaths are being investigated by detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, assisted by the National Crime Agency.

Bah, of no fixed abode, was arrested on Friday in connection with the incident.

The Crown Prosecution Service has since authorised a charge against the teenager of knowingly facilitating the attempted arrival in the United Kingdom of people he knew or had reasonable cause to believe were asylum seekers.

He was remanded in custody and will appear before Folkestone Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.

The search and rescue operation was launched after authorities were first alerted to the incident in the early hours of Wednesday.

A phone call was made at 2.53am from one man whose family were in the water. Screams could be heard in the background.

“Please help me bro, please, please, please," he said. We are in the water and we have a family."

The people on board the boat included men, women and children from Senegal, Afghanistan, India and Iraq.

Just over 36 hours later, the search was called off.

Kent County Council (KCC) leader Roger Gough told a council meeting on Thursday a teenager was among the fatalities and 12 of the 39 people rescued from the freezing water on Wednesday were lone migrant children who have now been taken into the authority’s care.

The tragedy, he said, was a “sobering reminder of the human costs of what is an ongoing crisis”.

On the same evening, a spokeswoman for the government said the extensive search coordinated by HM Coastguard was concluded at 5pm.

“A total of 43 people were recovered from the water, sadly including four fatalities," she said.

“Our thoughts continue to be with those affected by this tragic incident and with the families of those who have lost their lives.

“We would like to thank everyone involved in the search and rescue operation.”

A fisherman and his crew helped save 31 people from the freezing water.

The search on Wednesday involved 14 boats from both sides of the channel, as well as four helicopters and a fixed wing plane.

Co-ordinated by the British Coastguard, the water-based teams include four lifeboats, four coastguard rescue teams, three military vessels (including one from France) and three fishing boats that were in the area at the time.

Police and ambulance services were also deployed alongside the air ambulance to assist casualties when they were brought ashore.

Dover and Deal MP Natalie Elphicke called for urgent action to prevent further tragedies following the tragedy.

“The tragic loss of life in the English Channel underlines the urgency of ending the small boats crisis," she said.

“The criminal gangs behind these dangerous journeys have a callous disregard for human life.

"They won’t stop unless they are made to by Britain and France. That’s why the Prime Minister should meet urgently with President Macron to agree a joint Channel patrol on the beaches to stop the boats getting in the water - and a joint Channel patrol to protect lives.

"Urgent action is needed now.”

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Suella Braverman is changing the law so asylum seekers who arrive in the UK in small boats can be detained for "a period of not more than 96 hours" in holding facilities, unless a longer period is granted by the government.

Under previous rules, asylum seekers could only be detained for up to 24 hours, but as of January 5, the time they can be held in short-term processing facilities like Manston has been quadrupled.

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister unveiled a raft of new measures to curb Channel crossings and tackle the backlog of asylum claims.

Rishi Sunak told the Commons “unless we act now and decisively, this will only get worse” as he announced plans to establish a new “small boats operational command” dedicated to tackling the journeys to the UK.

Officers are continuing to work to establish the identity of those who died and locate their next of kin.

Anyone who has any information should visit mipp.police.uk/operation/NATIONAL22Y08-PO1.