Neighbors, relatives, and strangers arrived from every direction.
There was no time to wait for emergency services.
People dug frantically with shovels, picks, and even their bare hands.
Every minute mattered.
Rescuers desperately searched for signs of life beneath the thick black sludge.
Many refused to stop digging even after exhaustion set in.
As news of the catastrophe spread, the entire nation watched in horror.
Television and newspaper reports carried heartbreaking images from the small Welsh village.
Messages of support poured in from around the world.
But the scale of the tragedy was devastating.
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