A man accused of piloting a small boat carrying four people who drowned trying to cross the Channel has been charged over their deaths.

Alnour Mohamed Ali, a Sudanese national, was charged with endangering life after two men and two women died trying to board a small boat crossing the Channel on Thursday, the National Crime Agency said.

The 27-year-old is alleged to have piloted the boat from France to the UK. Thirty-eight people were returned to France after the incident, but 74 people continued on with the journey to the UK.

According to the NCA, the “taxi boat” smuggling tactic, designed to avoid detection by French police, involves small vessels waiting at pre-designated beaches, where passengers enter the water to climb onboard.

Endangering another during a journey by sea to the UK is a new offence introduced as part of border security legislation earlier this year. Ali will appear at Folkestone magistrates court on Saturday.

The offence is designed to prevent people cramming into unsafe boats and would apply to people involved in physical aggression and intimidation, as well as anyone who resists rescue.

A French government official, François-Xavier Lauch, the prefect of Pas-de-Calais, told reporters on Thursday the people who died were “already quite far into the sea”, adding: “The currents, which can be dangerous here, swept them away.”

The agency is helping French authorities with their investigation.

More than 5,000 people have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year, according to Home Office data.

Migrant charities have repeated calls for the government to provide safe and legal ways for asylum seekers to arrive in the UK to prevent more deaths, and Conservatives accused Labour of being “weak” over tackling crossings.

The government said it was “deeply saddened” by the deaths.