A teenager was among the four people who died in the Channel on Wednesday and at least a dozen unaccompanied asylum seeker children were also onboard the small boat that capsized.
Kent County Council leader Roger Gough told Sky News one of the four people who died as they tried to cross the Channel this week was a teenager.
He also said the council has taken into care 12 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who were among those rescued from the boat after it capsized in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
They are among 39 people who were rescued from the chilly waters as temperatures plunged this week.
The boat was carrying up to 50 people when it ran into difficulty.
A search by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency continued overnight into Thursday.
