by CAROLINE COOLEY

The mother of the Stanmore graduate tragically killed in a car crash in Spain last week has spoken about the devastation of losing her much-loved daughter.

Family and friends of Jaimini Kara packed Golders Green Crematorium on Tuesday for the funeral of the 21-year-old.

Her mother and father, who live in Old Church Lane, are still struggling to come to terms with the loss of their eldest child.

"She was a much loved daughter," Mrs Kara said. "She was a very happy child, we will miss her very very much. She was so full of life."

Jaimini had just graduated from Kings College University in London with an upper second class honours degree in biochemistry and was looking forward to starting a four year course at the British College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy in Hampstead in the autumn when she and four friends were killed while on holiday.

"She was a very spiritual person, and very interested in holistic medicine, which is why she was drawn to the course, hoping to become an osteopath," Mrs Kara explained. "She wanted to help people, she was conscientious and hard-working."

The former pupil of Park High School in Stanmore and student of Weald College in Harrow Weald, shared her mother's interest in Indian classical music and wanted to learn to play the sitar when she finished her studies.

Family and friends are comforting the Kara family, including Jaimini's younger brother and sister, aged 15 and 19 respectively, at their home.

"She was a popular girl, with lots of vitality. We have been inundated by well-wishers and family who are giving us lots of support," said Mrs Kara. "It's a difficult time for any parent."

A memorial service is being held at the Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Westfield Lane, Kenton, at 4pm on Saturday.

Jaimini was one of 10 former students from the university who had gone on holiday to unwind and celebrate their graduations at the end of July.

They were returning in two cars to their apartment in Benidorm from a day trip to Valencia on a winding east coast road in torrential rain when one of the cars collided with a lorry, only days before they were due to return home. The other five were in a car in front.

As we went to press, Spanish police were believed to be still investigating the accident. A spokewoman for the Foreign Office said it had not yet received a report from Spanish authorities.

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