Horror

Today in History, October 21: 1966 – The Aberfan Disaster. For 50 years British mining companies had been piling earthen debris dug out of nearby mines in “tips” or piles on the mountain above the village of Aberfan in Wales. After several days of rain, tip #7 gave way, and tens of thousands of cubic meters of a slurry swept down the mountain into the village in minutes. There was no time to warn the fog covered village, whose residents could hear the roar of the landslide, but could not see it. The local school was covered in at least 33 feet of muck, killing 116 children and 28 adults. Panicked parents clawed at the debris covering their children with their hands desperately trying to save their children.