Aberfan Disaster: Remembering the Day 144 Lives Were Lost

On October 21, 1966, the village of Aberfan in South Wales was devastated when a colliery spoil tip collapsed, unleashing a torrent of 30ft-high industrial waste that buried homes and Pantglas Junior School. The disaster claimed the lives of 144 people, the majority of whom were schoolchildren.

The catastrophic event occurred as 116 pupils and 5 teachers were inside the school. The avalanche of slurry and debris engulfed the building, trapping the victims. Helpless parents, arriving at the scene in the aftermath, could only reach for their children's hands through the rubble as they suffocated.

The collapse was attributed to the build-up of waste material from the National Coal Board's Merthyr Vale colliery. The spoil tip had been built on a natural spring, and heavy rainfall in the days leading up to the disaster saturated the ground, leading to the eventual slide.