Aran Jones, 21, was by chance filming at Dinorwig slate quarry in Gwynedd when he heard ‘like slates cracking and splitting’ – and kept his camera rolling
A student artist has spoken of the terrifying moment a massive quarry wall collapsed, sending tonnes of rock and slate hurtling towards him. Aran Jones, 21, happened to capture the dramatic incident on camera at Dinorwig slate quarry in Gwynedd.
Despite others fleeing the scene, he continued filming until a giant dust cloud began to billow into the sky, visible from the village of Llanberis below. “If there hadn’t been a large pit beneath the rockface, we could have been in trouble,” he said.
Rockfalls are occasionally reported at the quarry, once the world’s second largest slate mine. However, locals stated that the noise made by yesterday’s incident (Wednesday, July 23) was the loudest they’d heard in over three decades.
The collapse served as a stark reminder of the dangers of a site that has seen a surge in visitors in recent years. For some, it also highlighted the courage of quarry workers who reshaped a mountain above Llyn Peris often with the most basic of tools.
Aran, from Mynydd Llandegai near Bangor, visited the quarry during a trip back home from Cardiff, where he studies art while working as a pieman at Donald’s Coffee and Pies. Having risen at 3am, he’d already climbed Crib Coch and Yr Wyddfa by the time he arrived at the quarry, reports North Wales Live.
“I was walking by myself when I heard what sounded like slates cracking and splitting,” he said. “I’d been at the quarry a few days before and I’d heard the same sound then.
“I thought it might be the quarry’s goats, standing on a ledge and dislodging slate. So I began filming, hoping to spot them.”
Aran continued: “All of sudden the rockface gave way. I thought I was far enough away, so I kept filming. But had it not been for the massive pit beneath, all that rubble and debris would have come rushing towards me. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here
“A couple were on the path behind me. When the rockface collapsed, they came running past me, trying to get to safety. That woke me up a bit to the danger, so I began running with them.”
Mountain rescue teams have consistently cautioned about the perils of visiting Gwynedd’s abandoned slate quarries. Visitor numbers have surged following their recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, yet they frequently remain as treacherous as during their operational days.
In April, workers at the Dinorwig power station reported hearing spontaneous rockfalls in a section of the quarry that climbers refer to as the Quarry Peppermint Tower Area. The sound of rocks crashing down, including a “big boom”, was also detected by climbers.
During the same period, a climber sustained severe injuries from falling debris knocked loose by a colleague climbing above. He was transported to Royal Stoke Hospital’s major trauma centre following his rescue by Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) and an air ambulance.
Llanberis MRT had previously issued warnings to visitors about exercising extreme caution around disused slate quarries.
The alert followed growing worries over increasing numbers of people wandering off designated routes and placing themselves in peril at “hazardous locations”.
The MRT stated at the time: “No Instagram story is worth the level of risk that some people are unwittingly taking.”
While nobody sustained injuries from yesterday’s rockfall, photographs and footage appear to reveal smaller stones scattered across a neighbouring public footpath.
To prevent such incidents, site proprietor First Hydro Company limits public entry to certain quarry sections and completely seals off others.
Station manager John Armstrong urged everyone to remain safe, explaining that the substantial rockfalls “demonstrates why we don’t allow unauthorised access or exploration of the quarry”.
Aran advised anyone utilising the quarry to remain alert.
“If you hear any creaking or cracking in the rocks, get away from the area as quickly as possible,” he said.
“The old quarrymen used to listen out for these warning sounds.
“If you sense something is about to happen, at places like Dinorwig there’s a good chance it might.”
