Today marks the 55th year of the Aberfan disaster. The catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on 21 October 1966. The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the Welsh village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil. Taking the lives of 28 adults and 116 children.

9 comments

  1. The title doesn’t mention that there was a primary school directly at the bottom of the slope, accounting for many of the deaths

  3. Thanks for bringing to attention the remembrance of the disaster. I remember how much it affected the whole population of the UK by how my parents talk about it even now. Its was a horrendous disaster and could have been avoided. The tradegy was amplified by the fact that a primary school was in the direct path of the landslide. Really brings a tear to your eye thinking about this.

    The Crown also has an episode depicting this tradegy and is really worth watching if you have an hour. This episode is named Aberfan.

  4. If i remember correctly the authorities were reluctant to give monetary reparations because working class people were not seen as capable of handling larger sums of money, and they had to prove that they really missed their children and had been close to them.

  5. “In regards to compensation, Wales’ charity commission considered asking parents “exactly how close were you to your child?” It was looking to refuse compensation for those who weren’t deemed close enough to their children. But the question was never asked. The commission ended up providing about $645 to each family, because ***it was advised anymore would ruin the lives of the working class people, who wouldn’t be used to large sums of money.***”

    https://www.businessinsider.com/haunting-photos-tragic-aberfan-disaster-1966-2019-11?

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