Aberfan disaster remembered 60 years on by survivors

Summarised from 3 outlets · 4 reports · Updated 21 Oct, 01:03 · Archive

The Aberfan disaster killed 144 people, including 116 children, when a coal tip collapsed above a primary school on 21 October 1966.

On 21 October 1966, at 09:15, a coal tip above the village of Aberfan in south Wales collapsed. A wave of liquid spoil poured down Merthyr Mountain, engulfing Pantglas Junior School and nearby homes. The disaster killed 144 people: 116 children, most aged between seven and ten, and 28 adults, including five teachers. It remains one of the worst industrial disasters in British history.

The collapse occurred at the Merthyr Vale Colliery spoil tip, where workers had arrived to carry out repairs after discovering that part of the tip had sunk that morning, taking the track with it. A crane driver named Glyn Brown was standing at the edge when the disaster struck. Within moments, the school and homes were engulfed in black slurry.

Teachers worked to evacuate children from the school as the disaster unfolded. One 25-year-old teacher at Pantglas School heard a terrible noise and looked out to see a wall had collapsed, prompting her to get her pupils outside. The caretaker also rushed to get other children out. The chapel in the village was opened to receive the dead, with bodies initially placed in a shelter in the playground before being identified.

For survivors' families, the disaster has shaped their lives across generations. Denise Morgan explained that a portrait of her sister Annette, made by an artist after the disaster, became how her family spoke to each other about her loss each day. As her siblings and their children grew up, they asked about the portrait, and she would explain that Annette died in the disaster at age nine. Morgan said her family is finding this 60th anniversary particularly emotional, having lost her mother last year.

St John Ambulance volunteers were among those who responded immediately. Within 30 minutes of the collapse, members from the local colliery were at the scene, with volunteers from surrounding divisions joining miners, emergency services and members of the public to dig through the debris. Over 200 St John volunteers served in Aberfan throughout the following week, staffing rest centres, medical aid units and assisting at the site. Among them was David Wilson, then 23 years old, who was working in his family's roofing business.

How it is being reported

• Aberfan remembered 60 years on as St John volunteers remembered for rescue effortsSt John Ambulance has paid tribute to the victims and heroes of the Aberfan disaster 60 years on.South Wales Argus · 21 Oct, 00:01
• 60 years on: The Aberfan disaster through the eyes of those who survivedIt is 60 years since one of Wales' darkest days, when a mining community changed forever.BBC Wales · 20 Oct, 22:54
• Remembering the Aberfan Disaster: Neglect, horror, trauma60 years ago today, 116 children were killed in the Aberfan Disaster. It remains a trauma from which south Wales Valleys towns have never truly recovered.South Wales Argus · 20 Oct, 18:16
• 'Aberfan disaster shaped my life as my sister will be forever nine years old'This week marks 60 years since the Aberfan disaster which saw 144 killed in the incident, most of whom were childrenWalesOnline · 19 Oct, 09:14

In this story: Aberfan · Pantglas Junior School · Merthyr Vale Colliery · Denise Morgan · Annette Morgan · St John Ambulance Cymru · David Wilson

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