Raymi Rojas Saldaña

PARENTS of a teenager who drowned while on holiday have been told that a coroner’s inquest has been delayed.

Raymi Rojas Saldaña, 14, died in a lake in the Netherlands in summer 2024 – but his family say they still have unanswered questions over the circumstances.

A hearing due to take place at St Pancras Coroner’s Court over two days from October 15 did not go ahead and a new date for an inquest has not been set. Raymi’s mother, Jeanette Rojas, who lives off the Seven Sisters Road in Holloway, said the coroner had seemed like “our only hope” adding: “After a year, maybe some light or hope could be shined for us.”

She described the system as “bureaucratic and slow”.

The process has an extra hurdle because Raymi died abroad. His relatives said they had few details of what happened but knew he could not swim.

He had been on a five-day trip to Amsterdam with school friends.

NH Nieuws, a media outlet in the Netherlands, has reported that there were delays in reaching Raymi in the water due to communication problems with the coastguard.

It was only through news reports that the family first heard something might have gone wrong.

Raymi had played at prestigious music venues across London including the Jazz Cafe, performing traditional Latin American music in the trio Sagrada Familia UK.

You can currently read a special feature on Raymi’s family and their search for answers, and a debate about who the coroners’ system is helping in its current form on our NewJournal+ website.

Despite mystique around what goes on behind the doors of the St Pancras mortuary and courthouse in Somers Town, the coroner’s service at St Pancras has no press office to help public awareness of the process.

Our requests are rarely responded to.

The family’s friends have helped raised thousands of pounds in donations to help pay for legal fees during the process.

Imran Khan Solicitors have quoted the family almost £60,000 for representation at the inquest. The family are not eligible for financial aid as Raymi died abroad. They are continuing to ask for donations to help cover the cost of the legal fees.

Their crowdjustice page can be viewed at https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/justice-for-raymi/