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  3. The Aberfan disaster in South Wales: 60th anniversary on 21 October

The Aberfan disaster in South Wales: 60th anniversary on 21 October

Oct 21, 2026

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  • Accidents Disasters Fires Floods Tragedies 10 October 1966 – Number the Casualties to Aberfan Catastrophe increases further the Number the Casualties the Aberfan Catastrophe increases further the current Number is at 116 Corpses – including only Seven Adults -, the to the yesterday Copyright: xUnitedxArchivesx xkpaxKeystonex 19661010_baf_k09_088

    Accidents Disasters Fires Floods Tragedies 10 October 1966 – Number the Casualties to Aberfan Catastrophe increases further the Number the Casualties the Aberfan Catastrophe increases further the current Number is at 116 Corpses – including only Seven Adults -, the to the yesterday Copyright: xUnitedxArchivesx xkpaxKeystonex 19661010_baf_k09_088

  • The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of the mountain of death that slid half a mile down a green hillside yesterday to emtomb children and teachers in a village school reached 130 this morning. The man made mountain of pit waste slid silently down on to the school in the village of Aberfan four miles away from Merthyr Tydfil just after morning prayers yesterday. Pic shows rescue workers breaking into the crushed school searching for survivors.. Retrocon British Views Copyright: xNotxKnownx

    The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of the mountain of death that slid half a mile down a green hillside yesterday to emtomb children and teachers in a village school reached 130 this morning. The man made mountain of pit waste slid silently down on to the school in the village of Aberfan four miles away from Merthyr Tydfil just after morning prayers yesterday. Pic shows rescue workers breaking into the crushed school searching for survivors.. Retrocon British Views Copyright: xNotxKnownx

  • The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of the mountain of death that slid half a mile down a green hillside yesterday to emtomb children and teachers in a village school reached 130 this morning. The man made mountain of pit waste slid silently down on to the school in the village of Aberfan four miles away from Merthyr Tydfil just after morning prayers yesterday. Pic shows One of the surviviors of the disaster - a woman schoolteacher -is gently lifted on to a stretcher after being rescued from the crushed school. Retrocon British Views. Copyright: xNotxKnownx

    The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of the mountain of death that slid half a mile down a green hillside yesterday to emtomb children and teachers in a village school reached 130 this morning. The man made mountain of pit waste slid silently down on to the school in the village of Aberfan four miles away from Merthyr Tydfil just after morning prayers yesterday. Pic shows One of the surviviors of the disaster - a woman schoolteacher -is gently lifted on to a stretcher after being rescued from the crushed school. Retrocon British Views. Copyright: xNotxKnownx

  • Aberfan - The nation mourns. Today the nation mour Aberfan - The nation mourns. Today the nation mourned the lost generation of Aberfan, and in the cemetery on the mountain above the village 80 little coffins were being lowered into two mass graves this afternoon. South Wales has seen many painful sights since men first started to wrest coal from its valleys, but never one like this. As the coffins were placed in position at the graveside on a clear, cold day one policewoman was so overcome that she had to be led away. As well as 80 children - all victims of last Fridays disaster - an adult, a mother, was also buried today. Pic shows Mourners make their way to the cemetery for the burial service at Aberfan today. Retrocon British Views. Copyright: xNotxKnownx

    Aberfan - The nation mourns. Today the nation mour Aberfan - The nation mourns. Today the nation mourned the lost generation of Aberfan, and in the cemetery on the mountain above the village 80 little coffins were being lowered into two mass graves this afternoon. South Wales has seen many painful sights since men first started to wrest coal from its valleys, but never one like this. As the coffins were placed in position at the graveside on a clear, cold day one policewoman was so overcome that she had to be led away. As well as 80 children - all victims of last Fridays disaster - an adult, a mother, was also buried today. Pic shows Mourners make their way to the cemetery for the burial service at Aberfan today. Retrocon British Views. Copyright: xNotxKnownx

  • The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of the mountain of death that slid half a mile down a green hillside yesterday to emtomb children and teachers in a village school reached 130 this morning. The man made mountain of pit waste slid silently down on to the school in the village of Aberfan four miles away from Merthyr Tydfil just after morning prayers yesterday. Pic shows - An aerial view of the scene of the disaster showing where the sea of mud and coal dust smashed through the school and row of houses. Retrocon British Views. Copyright: xNotxKnownx

    The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of the mountain of death that slid half a mile down a green hillside yesterday to emtomb children and teachers in a village school reached 130 this morning. The man made mountain of pit waste slid silently down on to the school in the village of Aberfan four miles away from Merthyr Tydfil just after morning prayers yesterday. Pic shows - An aerial view of the scene of the disaster showing where the sea of mud and coal dust smashed through the school and row of houses. Retrocon British Views. Copyright: xNotxKnownx

  • The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of the mountain of death that slid half a mile down a green hillside yesterday to emtomb children and teachers in a village school reached 130 this morning. The man made mountain of pit waste slid silently down on to the school in the village of Aberfan four miles away from Merthyr Tydfil just after morning prayers yesterday. Pic shows - A child victim of the disaster is carried away on a stretcher as other rescue workers toll on. retrocon British Views. Copyright: xNotxKnownx

    The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of The school that died in a sea of mud. The toll of the mountain of death that slid half a mile down a green hillside yesterday to emtomb children and teachers in a village school reached 130 this morning. The man made mountain of pit waste slid silently down on to the school in the village of Aberfan four miles away from Merthyr Tydfil just after morning prayers yesterday. Pic shows - A child victim of the disaster is carried away on a stretcher as other rescue workers toll on. retrocon British Views. Copyright: xNotxKnownx

  • Picture shows the graves of some of the victims of Picture shows the graves of some of the victims of the Aberfan disaster. Retrocon British Views Copyright: xRisleyx

    Picture shows the graves of some of the victims of Picture shows the graves of some of the victims of the Aberfan disaster. Retrocon British Views Copyright: xRisleyx

  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Members of the Aberfan Parents and Residents Assoc Members of the Aberfan Parents and Residents Association hold a meeting following the publication of the tribunal s report into the Aberfan disaster in October 1966, which left 116 children and 28 adults dead after a coal heap slipped and buried the village school in Aberfan near Merthyr Tydfil. T Lewis, Joint Chairman (centre), addresses the meeting. August 1967. Retrocon British Views Copyright: xCFx

    RECORD DATE NOT STATED Members of the Aberfan Parents and Residents Assoc Members of the Aberfan Parents and Residents Association hold a meeting following the publication of the tribunal s report into the Aberfan disaster in October 1966, which left 116 children and 28 adults dead after a coal heap slipped and buried the village school in Aberfan near Merthyr Tydfil. T Lewis, Joint Chairman (centre), addresses the meeting. August 1967. Retrocon British Views Copyright: xCFx

  • Rescue operations continue AVALANCHE AT ABERFAN - At least 71 people, mostly children have been killed at Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, after a rain-soaked coal tip avalanched on an infants school, a farm and a row of houses. Eighty-five children are safe and 36 are in hospital. Photo shows: General view showing Wreckage after the disaster at Aberfan. Date: 22.10.1966., Credit:Photoshot Avalon United Kingdom Copyright: xPhotoshotx xAvalonx 0502981667

    Rescue operations continue AVALANCHE AT ABERFAN - At least 71 people, mostly children have been killed at Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, after a rain-soaked coal tip avalanched on an infants school, a farm and a row of houses. Eighty-five children are safe and 36 are in hospital. Photo shows: General view showing Wreckage after the disaster at Aberfan. Date: 22.10.1966., Credit:Photoshot Avalon United Kingdom Copyright: xPhotoshotx xAvalonx 0502981667

  • Rescue operations continue AVALANCHE AT ABERFAN - At least 71 people, mostly children have been killed at Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, after a rain-soaked coal tip avalanched on an infants school, a farm and a row of houses. Eighty-five children are safe and 36 are in hospital. Photo shows: The search goes on inside the tomb of the school at Aberfan. Date: 22.10.1966., Credit:Photoshot Avalon United Kingdom Copyright: xPhotoshotx xAvalonx 0502981661

    Rescue operations continue AVALANCHE AT ABERFAN - At least 71 people, mostly children have been killed at Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, after a rain-soaked coal tip avalanched on an infants school, a farm and a row of houses. Eighty-five children are safe and 36 are in hospital. Photo shows: The search goes on inside the tomb of the school at Aberfan. Date: 22.10.1966., Credit:Photoshot Avalon United Kingdom Copyright: xPhotoshotx xAvalonx 0502981661

  • Rescue operations continue AVALANCHE AT ABERFAN - At least 71 people, mostly children have been killed at Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, after a rain-soaked coal tip avalanched on an infants school, a farm and a row of houses. Eighty-five children are safe and 36 are in hospital. Photo shows: The search goes on inside the tomb of the school at Aberfan. Date: 22.10.1966., Credit:Photoshot Avalon United Kingdom Copyright: xPhotoshotx xAvalonx 0502981636

    Rescue operations continue AVALANCHE AT ABERFAN - At least 71 people, mostly children have been killed at Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, after a rain-soaked coal tip avalanched on an infants school, a farm and a row of houses. Eighty-five children are safe and 36 are in hospital. Photo shows: The search goes on inside the tomb of the school at Aberfan. Date: 22.10.1966., Credit:Photoshot Avalon United Kingdom Copyright: xPhotoshotx xAvalonx 0502981636

  • Victim is carried into ambulance AVALANCHE AT ABERFAN - At least 71 people, mostly children have been killed at Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, after a rain-soaked coal tip avalanched on an infants school, a farm and a row of houses. Eighty-five children are safe and 36 are in hospital. Photo shows: One of the houses which was engulfed by the avalanche of the killer coal slagheap in Aberfan. Date: 22.10.1966., Credit:Photoshot Avalon United Kingdom Copyright: xPhotoshotx xAvalonx 0502981627

    Victim is carried into ambulance AVALANCHE AT ABERFAN - At least 71 people, mostly children have been killed at Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, after a rain-soaked coal tip avalanched on an infants school, a farm and a row of houses. Eighty-five children are safe and 36 are in hospital. Photo shows: One of the houses which was engulfed by the avalanche of the killer coal slagheap in Aberfan. Date: 22.10.1966., Credit:Photoshot Avalon United Kingdom Copyright: xPhotoshotx xAvalonx 0502981627

  • Aberfan, Wales Disaster Memorial Garden, detail, on February 17 2019 in UK, portrait. xkwx Editorial, Grave, Cemetery, Graveyard, arch, burial, churchyard, Aberfan, Disaster, Memorial Garden, path, Pantglas, Junior, School, NCB, Coal, Slurry, remembrance, Merthyr Tydfil, quiet, reflection, peace, monument, symbol, memory, death, welsh, children, teacher, scandal, portrait, tip, at rest, tidy, landscape, detail, wide angle

    Aberfan, Wales Disaster Memorial Garden, detail, on February 17 2019 in UK, portrait. xkwx Editorial, Grave, Cemetery, Graveyard, arch, burial, churchyard, Aberfan, Disaster, Memorial Garden, path, Pantglas, Junior, School, NCB, Coal, Slurry, remembrance, Merthyr Tydfil, quiet, reflection, peace, monument, symbol, memory, death, welsh, children, teacher, scandal, portrait, tip, at rest, tidy, landscape, detail, wide angle

  • Aberfan, Wales This is the site of Pantglas Junior School sign on gate to Disaster Memorial Garden, on February 17 2019 in UK, portrait. xkwx Editorial, Aberfan, Disaster, Memorial Garden, gate, entrance, sign, path, Pantglas, Junior, School, NCB, Coal, Slurry, remembrance, Merthyr Tydfil, quiet, reflection, peace, monument, symbol, memory, death, welsh, children, teacher, scandal, portrait, victim

    Aberfan, Wales This is the site of Pantglas Junior School sign on gate to Disaster Memorial Garden, on February 17 2019 in UK, portrait. xkwx Editorial, Aberfan, Disaster, Memorial Garden, gate, entrance, sign, path, Pantglas, Junior, School, NCB, Coal, Slurry, remembrance, Merthyr Tydfil, quiet, reflection, peace, monument, symbol, memory, death, welsh, children, teacher, scandal, portrait, victim

  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED The Aberfan disaster was 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, and overlaid a natural spring. A period of heavy rain led to a build-up of water within the tip which caused it to suddenly slide downhill as a slurry, killing 116 children and 28 adults as it engulfed Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses. The tip was the responsibility of the National Coal Board (NCB), and the subsequent inquiry placed the blame for the disaster on the organisation and nine named employees WorldxHistoryxArchive 917_05_wha_166_0176

    RECORD DATE NOT STATED The Aberfan disaster was 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, and overlaid a natural spring. A period of heavy rain led to a build-up of water within the tip which caused it to suddenly slide downhill as a slurry, killing 116 children and 28 adults as it engulfed Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses. The tip was the responsibility of the National Coal Board (NCB), and the subsequent inquiry placed the blame for the disaster on the organisation and nine named employees WorldxHistoryxArchive 917_05_wha_166_0176

  • Oct. 22, 1966 - 71 dead and 58 entombed in Avalanche at Aberfan: At least 71 people, mostly children, are dead and between 58 and 60 still entombed at Aberfan, near Marthyr Tydfil, South Wales, after a rain-soaked coal tip avalanched on an infants school, a farm and a row of houses. Eighty five children are safe and 36 are in hospital. Photo shows two of the grim faced rescue workers at the scene of the disaster in Aberfan. - ZUMAk09

    Oct. 22, 1966 - 71 dead and 58 entombed in Avalanche at Aberfan: At least 71 people, mostly children, are dead and between 58 and 60 still entombed at Aberfan, near Marthyr Tydfil, South Wales, after a rain-soaked coal tip avalanched on an infants school, a farm and a row of houses. Eighty five children are safe and 36 are in hospital. Photo shows two of the grim faced rescue workers at the scene of the disaster in Aberfan. - ZUMAk09

  • Oct. 10, 1966 - 100 children found in Disaster at Aberfan. So far 107 bodies - 100 of them children have been recovered from the slime-covered wreckage of the crushed village school at Aberfan, near Merthr Tydfil, following yesterday s coat tip avalnache. Photo shows Rescue workers seen at the scene of the disaster at Aberfan. - ZUMAk09

    Oct. 10, 1966 - 100 children found in Disaster at Aberfan. So far 107 bodies - 100 of them children have been recovered from the slime-covered wreckage of the crushed village school at Aberfan, near Merthr Tydfil, following yesterday s coat tip avalnache. Photo shows Rescue workers seen at the scene of the disaster at Aberfan. - ZUMAk09

  • Wales.Glamorgan. Aberfan. Mining town mud slide disaster on October 21st. 1966 Mud from the coal tip waste engulfed the infant school in the village of Aberfan. UnitedArchives01031402

    Wales.Glamorgan. Aberfan. Mining town mud slide disaster on October 21st. 1966 Mud from the coal tip waste engulfed the infant school in the village of Aberfan. UnitedArchives01031402

  • Village scene - Aberfan disaster 1966 UnitedArchives00955922

    Village scene - Aberfan disaster 1966 UnitedArchives00955922

  • Rescue workers still toil in the black slime 28 hours after it had slipped down the man made mountain of coal waste and engulfed the Pantglas Junior School and some houses of Aberfan, Wales, on Friday 21st October 1966 UnitedArchives00365102

    Rescue workers still toil in the black slime 28 hours after it had slipped down the man made mountain of coal waste and engulfed the Pantglas Junior School and some houses of Aberfan, Wales, on Friday 21st October 1966 UnitedArchives00365102

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