1967 Photo Contest, General News, 2nd prize
Photographer

Peter Elinskas

21 October, 1966

Pantglas Junior School in the welsh mining village of Aberfan, after a landslide that killed 144 people. On the morning of 21 October 1966, the tip of the Merthyr Vale Colliery, located above Aberfan, broke off and slid down the Aberfan Valley. The coal waste hit Pantglas Junior School and a several houses nearby, killing 116 children and 28 adults. After the main landslide came to a halt, rescue workers, parents and other volunteers rushed to the scene and began digging through the rubble. A few children were pulled alive during the first hour, but no survivors were found after 11 am. It took nearly a week to recover all bodies.

About the photographer

Peter Elinskas

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