Aberfan Disaster: Survivors Recount 60 Years On From Devastating Landslide

Sixty years ago, on October 21, 1966, the village of Aberfan in Wales was forever changed by a catastrophic landslide. At 9:15 a.m., a massive accumulation of coal slurry above the village collapsed, burying Pantglas Junior School and several homes.

The disaster claimed the lives of 144 people, including 116 children, on what was the last school day before the half-term break. Survivors and those who witnessed the aftermath have shared their enduring memories of the tragedy.

Mair Morgan, then a 25-year-old teacher at Pantglas School, recalled the horrifying sounds and the sight of the collapsing wall. "I looked out of the window. I could see a wall had collapsed and realised I had to get my pupils outside," she said. As she evacuated her class, she witnessed the caretaker attempting to rescue other children. Bodies of the deceased were initially placed in Bethania Chapel, but some were identified first in a playground shelter.

Gareth Jones, then six years old, described a loud rumbling sound that grew in intensity. "Next thing, water was seeping through the floor, the walls were cracking and timbers were breaking," he recounted. His teacher managed to break a window, and he was lifted to safety. He recalled seeing "a mountain of coal and slurry, with dust and water everywhere" upon escaping.

Gaynor Madgwick, eight at the time, experienced the collapse firsthand. "Then this mass of black came crashing through the window, hurling me from the front of the classroom to the back," she said. Buried under debris, she initially thought her legs were gone. "I woke up to find the classroom was no longer the classroom. The roof had caved in on us, and we were completely buried." She was later reunited with her grandfather and learned that her siblings, Carl and Marylyn, had died.

Jeff Edwards, also eight, was among the last to be rescued alive. He remembered the lights swaying and the teacher reassuring students it was only thunder. "The next thing I remember was waking up and seeing light from the sky because the roof had come in," he said. He was trapped with a deceased girl on his shoulder before being pulled out and taken to the hospital.

David Davies was presumed dead after being engulfed by debris and falling masonry. He was placed with other bodies, covered by a blanket, until a movement in his foot was noticed, leading to his re-examination and transfer to the hospital.

Janett Bickley, who had recently recovered from pneumonia, almost missed school that day. She recalled seeing what she thought was smoke coming from the direction of the coal tip. "Then it was coming closer and closer," she stated. She instinctively put her head down on her desk and woke up buried. She was eventually dug out by a classmate, but later learned a boy who was stunned and refused to move in the hallway died of a heart attack before rescue.

Ray Lee lost his only child, eight-year-old Anne. He recalled the chaos as people tried to enter the school and the devastating moment he identified his daughter in the mortuary. "It's hard to think about it now," he said. "I'd like to have known her for that bit longer, because the eight years went very quickly."

David Evans, who had one of the few telephones in Aberfan, was alerted by a neighbor. While his neighbor called the fire brigade for a collapsed house, a woman ran past shouting that the school had gone. Evans witnessed the devastation and the arrival of miners to assist in rescue efforts.

Mel Parry, an 18-year-old apprentice photographer, was passing through Aberfan when he heard the news. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he documented the devastation for the Merthyr Express.

Journalist Calvin Pugsley described the scene as a "black mass" engulfing the school, with men working desperately to find survivors. He recounted stories of bravery, including deputy headmaster Dai Beynon shielding children with his body and teacher Bill Evans, whose wife and two children died in the disaster.

Jeanette Keane was at a nearby grammar school when she heard about the disaster. Her father was at the school digging for her sister Edwina. He found Edwina alive but could not reach her due to the unstable roof. "My father laid by the side of her. He held her hand and she suffocated," she said.

Denise Morgan, 11 at the time, remembered her father returning home with her sister Annette's belongings after identifying her body. "He said 'as if she was sleeping'. Those were his words. She was peaceful," Denise recalled. The loss of her sister, who was only 18 months older, was an enormous loss for an 11-year-old to comprehend.