We know what Italians are going through, say the people of Wales who lost a generation

Aberfan and San Giuliano di Puglia may be more than 1,000 miles apart but they share the experience of the deaths of a generation of their children.

The south Wales mining community, where on 21 October 1966 a colliery waste tip collapsed, inundating the village school and killing 116 children and 28 adults, was reliving its anguish yesterday. But it was also offering counsel and sympathy to the community in Italy.

Cliff Minnett lost a son and daughter when the stinking slurry engulfed Pant Glas school. Portraits of Marlyn, 10, and Carl, seven, dominate the living room in his bungalow overlooking the village.

"My daughter Gaynor was saved because she was trapped behind a radiator. It took hours to free her. She was between Carl and Marlyn," he recalled yesterday.

Mr Minnett had worked underground at the Merthyr Vale Colliery, the mine that produced the deadly waste. "But I couldn't go on working there so I decided to concentrate on helping in any way I could to help the village recover," he said. Mr Minnett chairs a Memorial Committee, which tends the graves of the victims and, even after more than 36 years, helps to counsel the relatives of those who died. He could not bear to switch on the television because the images of the Italian earthquake were too raw a reminder of his family's tragedy.

"I know it will take time for those who have lost loved ones to come to terms with what happened. The strength there will be in the community, with people sharing their thoughts just as we did here."

The committee is sending messages of condolence to Italy. One was sent to New York after the attacks of 11 September and a reply received from the city fathers is treasured.

A sadness born of understanding was etched in the face of Rowena Davies, a pensioner. "I've lived in Aberfan nearly all my life. I know what people are going through now."

In the wake of the 1966 disaster Aberfan drew on the strength of communities inured to hardship. The discipline inherent in miners' pit lodges played an important part in uniting the village. There was anger at the National Coal Board's attempts to hijack a slice of the £2m disaster fund to pay for the removal of tips, but the tight-knit nature of the community saw off the challenge.

Survivors of later tragedies received professional counselling, but little was available 30-odd years ago. The village looked after its own and Aberfan's efforts to overcome its tragedy have been unremitting. A community centre was built on the site of the school and nearly £2m was raised for a disaster fund.

Phil Reece manages a Welsh Assembly-funded regeneration programme. He recalls how a 50ft-high wall of sludge came to rest a few yards from his home in Barrington Street. "We all know here just how that Italian village must feel. To see people removing rubble with their bare hands brings back memories of the hundreds who clawed at the slurry waste to free children," he said.

As though in mourning, the memorial garden on the site of the school was shrouded in mist and rain yesterday when the community centre began to hum with activity. The site of the old colliery is now a flattened space. More than 600 jobs went when it closed 11 years ago.

Just why the school in Italy collapsed awaits explanation. But in Aberfan there's no mistaking the understanding and prayers for the community offers to San Giuliano in a time of trauma.