Aberfan survivors and families recall disaster 60 years on

The Aberfan disaster’s survivors and bereaved families have shared their memories as Wales marks 60 years since a coal-waste tip collapsed on Pantglas Junior School and nearby homes, killing 144 people, including 116 children. [1]

The disaster happened at 09:15 on 21 October 1966, the last school day before half-term. The BBC reports that about 150,000 tonnes of slurry swept down the mountainside into the village. [1]

Teacher Mair Morgan, then 25, recalled hearing a terrible noise and seeing a wall collapse. She said she helped pupils escape through a window. One of them, Gareth Jones, who was six, said he was grateful for her quick thinking and that she had saved their lives. [1]

Eight-year-old Gaynor Madgwick survived with a broken leg but lost her brother and sister, Carl and Marylyn. “My life changed forever,” she said. Jeff Edwards, also eight, was the last child rescued alive, shortly after 11:00. He recalled waking beneath the rubble and being passed from one firefighter to another. [1]

The accounts also describe the search for the missing. David Davies was placed among the dead before someone noticed his foot move; a doctor then found he was alive. Ray Lee searched for his eight-year-old daughter Anne until he identified her at a chapel being used as a mortuary. [1]

Rescuers, miners and people from neighbouring communities worked through the debris. The anniversary accounts bring together memories of survival, loss and the efforts to find children after the tip engulfed the school. [1]