Village Destroyed by Nearby Coal Mine | Last Moments
For many in Aberfan, mining was their life, and unfortunately, it would also be their death.
“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.
There were seven spoil tips on the hills above Aberfan; Tip 7—the one that slipped onto the village—was begun in 1958 and, at the time of the disaster, was 111 feet (34 m) high. In contravention of the NCB’s official procedures, the tip was partly based on ground from which water springs emerged. After three weeks of heavy rain the tip was saturated and approximately 140,000 cubic yards (110,000 m3) of spoil slipped down the side of the hill and onto the Pantglas area of the village. The main building hit was the local junior school, where lessons had just begun; 5 teachers and 109 children were killed in the school.
An official inquiry was chaired by Lord Justice Edmund Davies. The report placed the blame squarely on the NCB. The organisation’s chairman, Lord Robens, was criticised for making misleading statements and for not providing clarity as to the NCB’s knowledge of the presence of water springs on the hillside. Neither the NCB nor any of its employees were prosecuted and the organisation was not fined.
The Aberfan Disaster Memorial Fund (ADMF) was set up on the day of the disaster. It received nearly 88,000 contributions, totalling £1.75 million. The remaining tips were removed only after a lengthy fight by Aberfan residents, against resistance from the NCB and the government on the grounds of cost. Clearing was paid for by a government grant and a forced contribution of £150,000 taken from the memorial fund. In 1997 the British government paid back the £150,000 to the ADMF, and in 2007 the Welsh Government donated £1.5 million to the fund and £500,000 to the Aberfan Education Charity as recompense for the money wrongly taken. Many of the village’s residents suffered medical problems, and half the survivors have experienced post-traumatic stress disorder at some time in their lives.”
More on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster
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@Qxir
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
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@Limrasson
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
What conclusions we can make from observing recent history is that as long as your venture is profitable, you can just shrug off any consequence.
@Non-Biased-Soul
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
I was working in Neath at the time aged 16 when it came over the radio. i will never forget that day.
Where the killer tip once stood a dual carriage way runs through the spot and the spring that caused the disaster can be seen from the road.
years ago the graves of those that died had photos but they were all later removed. today where the school once stood is now a shrine in memory of those who perished that day October 21st 1966.
@tacticalidiots2340
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
I live about twenty minutes from Aberfan. Remember learning about it in school
@CompanionCube
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
„i need to store this anvil somewhere. i‘ll hang it on a string from the ceiling above my bed“
genius
@tnejgardening2084
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
My grandfather was a rescuer
@sirderik
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
Remember, this is what they want when they say "clean coal" they want towns of obedient workers working for penny's thats basically not worth the soil they walk upon. That can be given 50 Pounds as compensation for over 100 crushed kids.
Also quick Warning….. So dont keep reading if your not ready…. Ok so, the kids Likely screamed before they died as the crushing deaths they got was likely not fast enough to kill them without notice…. And the coal board knew this and still feelt 50 pounds was a generous pay.
@dyingscarlet
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
Oh my god imagine getting over a hundred 7-11 year old children killed and you can't even take responsibility and just compensate the damn parents and remove the damn tips when they ask you to. Fuckin monsters.
@JamesMMcCann
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
Good video.
@caebawkinsbames4355
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
It’s so eerie looking at the videos of the rescues I can see houses that I pass everyday I can’t imagine how the families dealt with loosing there kids .
@rocket3254
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
It’s still dangerous near coal tips to this day
@edwhatshisname3562
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
Spoil t*ts
@jonnyjohn2321
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
Moral of the story, never trust the crown
@adam.677
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
There is a crazy mining disaster in my hometown (westhoughton) i think there were 350 people killed in a massive underground explosion. Some families were left with just the mother and maybe a daughter, most of the dads and sons of the town were killed in the explosion.
@joshuapatrick682
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
at what point did they decide to put the fucking school there? the insanity of this whole situation is staggering…..
@joshuapatrick682
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
what dumbasses looked up the hill from thier family's homes and said, yeah, let's pile millions of metric tons of loose aggregate up there, it'll get some rain and maybe even some grass will grow on it! derp
@Snakesnarl
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
Nice highlights
@ConanDuke
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
Humans are so stupid.
@DOCTORDROTT
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
The tips are still there, just landscaped. I filmed this exactly 50 years and to the minute . The tips are still monitored for movement https://youtu.be/1dhHrSl766k?si=ol8sk8lZDUnt69W4
@somebody_JB
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
"we killed your family here's 50 $. Fine 500$ should make you feel better
@Gojiro7
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
I hope the owner of that coal mine was spat on every day for the rest of his rotten life
@charmainepower9015
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
There was a similar incident in a small mining town in Alberta Canada exept it was a landslide and the whole town was under a landslide it was called Frank's slide and was one of the most deadliest mining incidents in Canadian history check the comments
@Dustin-j3k
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
Omfg 116 children:( omfg thos parents and familys
@Dustin-j3k
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
Right when you mentioned the spoil tip i went" uh oh i know were this is going":(
@jazzingpanda3190
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
I live only a few miles from this. There’s a large memorial to it close by.
Thank you for covering this. A true disaster of our times.
Happening the final day before half term too.
The coal board not taking responsibility is a classic case of the English government doing what they do in regards to Wales.
The Welsh government having to donate the amount as the English refused. So much for a “United” Kingdom.
@oliverstone6573
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
Have you considered doing one of these videos about the lynmouth flood that destroyed a huge portion of the village and led to many casualties
@MessiahManiac
August 20, 2025 at 1:46 am
00:13 that Nicolas Cage cameo was unexpected 😳
Comments are closed.