The disaster that struck the village of Aberfan on 21 October 1966 was surely one of the most poignant tragedies of the twentieth century. When the coal waste tip slid down the side of the mountain, engulfing the primary school, a farm and around twenty houses, the loss was enormous. In total, 144 people lost their lives, including 116 school children.
It was shortly after 9 o’clock on that Friday morning that the south face of coal tip number 7 of the Merthyr Vale Colliery began to move. Schoolchildren had just returned from their morning assembly at Pantglas School, ready to begin the day’s classes when a thunderous noise was heard from the hillside above the village. Seconds later, thousands of tonnes of black coal slag swept towards Aberfan, taking with it first a farmhouse before crashing into the primary school, surrounding shops and houses and part of the nearby secondary school which didn’t open its doors until 9.30. Children and adults were trapped by the mud and slurry that quickly filled the classrooms and homes.
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