ABERFAN MINING LANDSLIDE BY JOSEPH WALDOCK The Aberfan Disaster - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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May 09, 2023 373 likes •451 views

ABERFAN MINING LANDSLIDE BY JOSEPH WALDOCK The Aberfan Disaster The Aberfan disaster was the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip at around 9:15 am on 21 October 1966. The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the Welsh

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ABERFAN MINING LANDSLIDE

BY JOSEPH WALDOCK

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The Aberfan Disaster

The Aberfan disaster was the catastrophic collapse of

a colliery spoil tip at around 9:15 am on 21 October 1966. The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the Welsh village

f Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, and covered 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 the local junior school and other

buildings. 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.

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WHAT HAPPENED

There were seven spoil tips on the slopes above

Aberfan; Tip 7—the one that slipped onto the village—was started in 1958 and, at the time of the disaster, was 111 feet (34 m) high. In contravention

f 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 Pantglas 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

rganisation was not fined.

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SOME PICTURES OF THE DISASTER

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WHAT HAPPENED AT THE SCHOOL

There were 240 attendees at the school that morning, of

which 109 children and five teachers were killed. Some of the staff died attempting to protect the children including the deputy headmaster and dinner lady.

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WHAT WE CAN SEE TODAY

A memorial garden has now

replaced the space in which the school stood more than 53 years ago. The remnants of the coal tip can no longer be seen.