Advertisement

A Personal Remembrance Of The 1966 Wales Mine Disaster

In this Oct. 22, 1966 file photo, rescue workers shovel the wet coal waste 28 hours after it slipped down the man-made mountain of coal waste and engulfed the Pantglas Junior School, and some houses, in Aberfan, Wales. (AP)
In this Oct. 22, 1966 file photo, rescue workers shovel the wet coal waste 28 hours after it slipped down the man-made mountain of coal waste and engulfed the Pantglas Junior School, and some houses, in Aberfan, Wales. (AP)

Editor's Note: Per an agreement with the BBC, audio for this segment was only available for 30 days. It has been removed.

Fifty years ago today, a mountain of coal waste buried the Welsh village of Aberfan. 144 people died, including 116 children trapped in a school.

BBC reporter Gareth Bowen covered the rescue effort. Here & Now's Lisa Mullins spoke with his son, Jeremy Bowen, who is now the BBC's Middle East editor. Here are thoughts from Here & Now producer Alex Ashlock.


I've always admired Jeremy Bowen's reporting. Bowen is the Middle East Editor for the BBC, and in that role he spent a lot of time in a helmet and flak jacket, covering conflicts like the civil war in Syria.

When I got to work this morning, I saw a tweet from Bowen:

I did — and I was enthralled.

Aberfan is a village in Wales. On Oct. 21, 1966, a mountain of coal waste just about buried the town, including a school for kids under the age of 11. More than 140 people died, 116 of them children. Gareth Bowen worked for the BBC. He went to Aberfan and reported from the rubble as volunteers dug for survivors. Only five children were recovered.

It took a week for crews to recover all the bodies.

Gareth Bowen's reporting that day does what good reporting always does. It tells a story. His son grew up to do the same.

Dad has to be proud.

Guest

Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor. He tweets @bowenbbc.

This article was originally published on October 21, 2016.

This segment aired on October 21, 2016. The audio for this segment is not available.

Headshot of Alex Ashlock

Alex Ashlock Producer, Here & Now
Alex Ashlock was a producer for Here & Now since 2005. He started his WBUR career as senior producer of Morning Edition in 1998.

More…

Advertisement

More from Here & Now

Listen Live
Close