THE ABERFAN DISASTER

Episode 217 | Historical Events

In this History episode we focus on the Aberfan disaster of October 21st, 1966 — the day a coal waste tip built by the National Coal Board above a Welsh village collapsed and buried Pantglas Junior School. One hundred and sixteen children were killed at their desks. Twenty-eight adults died with them. Half of the village's children, in eighteen minutes.

The NCB had been warned in writing in 1963 that the tip above the school was dangerously unstable in heavy rain. They had threatened the community's livelihood to silence complaints. NCB chairman Lord Robens arrived late, claimed the springs beneath the tip were unknown, and was found to have lied by the subsequent tribunal. No criminal charges were ever filed. The bereaved community was then charged £150,000 from the public Disaster Fund to pay for removing the hazard that killed their children. That money was repaid in 1997 — without interest, thirty-one years later.

This podcast features narration with a synthetic AI voice.

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