King, Queen and Prince William join Aberfan 60th anniversary commemorations

King Charles, Queen Camilla and Prince William joined survivors, bereaved families and rescue workers in Aberfan on Wednesday to mark 60 years since one of Britain's worst man-made disasters. They laid wreaths at the memorial garden that now stands on the site of Pantglas Junior School, where a coal waste tip collapsed and engulfed the school and nearby houses on 21 October 1966.

At just after 9am, after days of heavy rain, more than 100,000 tonnes of coal slurry slid down the mountainside from the Merthyr Vale Colliery; some reports put the figure at 150,000 tonnes. The National Coal Board was later found fully responsible, but no one was prosecuted. In total, 144 people died. Of them, 116 were children, most aged between seven and ten. The disaster wiped out a generation in the village. The last survivor, an eight-year-old boy, was pulled out less than two hours after the slide.

A minute's silence was held at the time the disaster struck. The stopped clock at 9.13am has become a symbol of the loss. A private service took place at the memorial garden before the royal visit. The Prime Minister had visited two days earlier to lay a wreath at the cemetery and meet survivors and community members. The King, making his first visit as head of state, met survivors, relatives, the last surviving teacher, Maya Morgan, and people who took part in the rescue. He also met schoolchildren visiting the memorial garden and people at the community centre. The King called it the saddest and most tragic of days imaginable. He told the community: 'Today we pause to remember what you can never forget.' He added: 'Please know how deeply we feel with your sorrow, how greatly we admire your strength and how you will always be in our hearts.'

Survivors gave painful accounts. David Davies, then eight, was pulled from the rubble and wrongly presumed dead until a rescuer saw his foot move. Viv Jones, then 15, described finding his nine-year-old brother Paul in the debris and said he had always regretted not cleaning coal from the boy's nose. Jeanette Bickley, who was eight, said she thought about the day every day and that her mother told her not to talk about it for 30 years. Pat, who lost her nine-year-old sister Sharon, and Wendy, Sharon's best friend, spoke publicly for the first time. Four classmates who survived together said they remained close friends. There were also stories of heroism: caretaker Stephen Andrews saved several children despite losing both of his sons, and dinner lady Nancy Williams used her body to shield five children, all of whom survived.

Family members and survivors have long pointed to injustice. The National Coal Board was blamed for ignoring warnings about the unstable tip. Families received what was described as pitiful compensation, and money donated to help them was raided to clear other tips. Jeanette Bickley said bereaved parents were offered 50 pounds per child and called for the inquiry to be reopened. She said the tip was over 100 metres tall when the legal limit was 20 metres. No one was held accountable. Others want the story passed to a new generation. A commemorative concert, private services and exhibitions have been held, with items recovered from the wreckage and a clock frozen at the moment of the landslide on display.

The anniversary has also raised questions about safety. Assessments show 368 disused coal mines, mainly in the Welsh valleys, still have the potential to affect public safety, and more than 2,500 coal tips in Wales are being monitored. The Welsh government has set up a new public body from April next year to protect communities from unstable tips. This was the first major anniversary since Queen Elizabeth II died. The royal family's relationship with Aberfan has changed since she delayed her visit by eight days in 1966, later described as one of the biggest regrets of her reign. She visited four more times, last in 2012 to open the local community primary school. Prince William met Denise Morgan, who lost her nine-year-old sister Annette, and heard how the village wants to be known for more than the disaster.