Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Aberfan disaster was a catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip that occurred at approximately 9:15 am on 21 October 1966 in the small mining village of Aberfan, South Wales. The landslide killed 144 people, including 116 children, decimating a generation of the local community.
For decades, the Merthyr Vale Colliery had been dumping mining waste on the flanks of Merthyr Mountain, directly above the village
Weeks of heavy rainfall in October 1966 heavily saturated "Tip 7", which stood over 100 feet (30 metres) high. The build-up of water caused the fine shale and coal dust to liquefy, turning the solid waste into a fast-moving slurry. When Tip 7 gave way, more than 100,000 cubic metres of black slurry avalanched down the mountain at speeds exceeding 80 mph.
The landslide slammed directly into the Pantglas school just minutes after morning registration had concluded. The majority of the victims were pupils aged between 7 and 10 who died from asphyxia or crush injuries.
Hundreds of local miners, emergency service personnel, and volunteers rushed to the scene to dig through the sludge using shovels and bare hands. Sadly, no survivors were extracted from the rubble after 11:00 am on the day of the disaster..
The official inquiry led by Lord Justice Edmund Davies placed the blame entirely on the National Coal Board (NCB). The tribunal concluded that the disaster was caused by "total corporate negligence," as the NCB had ignored years of explicit warnings from local residents and council officials about the stability of the tips.
The Aberfan disaster was a catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip that occurred at approximately 9:15 am on 21 October 1966 in the small mining village of Aberfan, South Wales. The landslide killed 144 people, including 116 children, decimating a generation of the local community.
For decades, the Merthyr Vale Colliery had been dumping mining waste on the flanks of Merthyr Mountain, directly above the village
Weeks of heavy rainfall in October 1966 heavily saturated "Tip 7", which stood over 100 feet (30 metres) high. The build-up of water caused the fine shale and coal dust to liquefy, turning the solid waste into a fast-moving slurry. When Tip 7 gave way, more than 100,000 cubic metres of black slurry avalanched down the mountain at speeds exceeding 80 mph.
The landslide slammed directly into the Pantglas school just minutes after morning registration had concluded. The majority of the victims were pupils aged between 7 and 10 who died from asphyxia or crush injuries.
Hundreds of local miners, emergency service personnel, and volunteers rushed to the scene to dig through the sludge using shovels and bare hands. Sadly, no survivors were extracted from the rubble after 11:00 am on the day of the disaster..
The official inquiry led by Lord Justice Edmund Davies placed the blame entirely on the National Coal Board (NCB). The tribunal concluded that the disaster was caused by "total corporate negligence," as the NCB had ignored years of explicit warnings from local residents and council officials about the stability of the tips.
