Gaps in emergency response highlighted after teen's drowning in Amsterdam

A report by the Amsterdam-Amstelland Safety Region, obtained by NH Nieuws, reveals serious shortcomings in emergency coordination following the drowning of a 14-year-old British boy in July at Buiten-IJ near IJburg. Raymi Saldaña Rojas fell from a motorboat on July 28 and was found an hour later by fire brigade divers, but rescue efforts were delayed by communication failures.

The report found radio communication between rescue boats and the Coast Guard frequently failed during the incident. Additionally, the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM) failed to meet the 30-minute response standard. Fire and police responders faced access delays due to the necessity of passing through the Oranjesluizen lock.

Coordination between the Coast Guard and the Amsterdam-Amstelland Safety Region was found lacking, as each organization follows separate protocols. Both share responsibility for incidents at Buiten-IJ, but conflicting systems and protocols led to a 12-minute delay in recognizing the shared emergency. The report noted no joint strategy was agreed upon despite this realization.

Further delays occurred in locating the victim, as a call from a foreign phone number delayed the identification of the accident's location. Location data, which should have been shared within minutes, took over 20 minutes to reach dive teams, as Coast Guard data was not promptly shared with the 112 emergency center.

Divers were further delayed due to a lack of available boats meeting safety requirements. Although private rescue boats offered help, they were not utilized promptly. Divers eventually used a police boat, which was also deemed inadequate under safety standards.

Amsterdam-Amstelland announced it will join the IJsselmeer region's water rescue collaboration network on January 1 to address these deficiencies. A spokesperson said the process was already underway.