Aberfan

Gethin · October 21, 2016

Today's the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-37689736

144 people including 116 children died when a slag heap that had (despite warnings) been built on top of a spring slid down the valley and tore through one side of the local primary school.

Growing up in South Wales you learn about it, but we're now living only a few miles up the road and you can tell it's still a big scar on the community, not least due to the NCB covering up the causes and the government taking money from the disaster fund to pay for removal of the slag heaps.

There's a couple of programmes on iPlayer if you're interested. The first about what happened

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07zk62d/surviving-aberfan

The second about how the NCB attempted to cover up their negligence

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07zk6fj/aberfan-the-fight-for-justice

The South Wales valleys are very different places now mining and heavy industry has largely gone - and it's hard to imagine what it must have been like living with these massive waste heaps towering over you on the tops of the mountainside

Nerik · October 21, 2016

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