Prime Minister Andy Burnham has met a survivor of the Aberfan disaster, as well as others with connections to the tragedy, days ahead of the 60th anniversary.

Burnham visited the Aberfan memorial garden on Monday morning alongside Jeff Edwards, one of the last children to be brought out alive from the wreckage, and Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock.

“It’s been 60 years since one of the most horrifying tragedies this country has ever seen. All of those children lost,” Burnham said.

On 21 October 1966, 116 children and 28 adults were killed when a colliery spoil tip collapsed, catastrophically engulfing a primary school and surrounding houses.

A survivor who spoke to the prime minister alongside others on Monday said that although she felt some “guilt” and missed those who died, it was important for her to talk about what happened.

The prime minister said the tragedy was something his mum and dad told him about when he was growing up, adding that he was there to “recognise the community” and what they had been through.

“The strength of the community today is something to see and something to feel,” he said.

“To say also to them, I don’t think Aberfan was treated properly by the authorities and that also needs to be recognised.

“Because at a moment like this, I think all of those things need to be said and it’s right that the prime minister is here to say that to them.”

Burnham spent about 15 minutes in the memorial garden, before speaking to people who had gathered outside. He also visited a community centre.

He said coal tip safety, particularly in former mining communities in south Wales, was of “critical importance”.

“It’s of critical importance that we make sure that all of the remaining tips around Wales are safe indeed across the country,” he said, adding he represented a former mining community in Makerfield near Manchester.

He said his government was providing around £140m to the Welsh government, who were “adding some extra funding themselves”.

“There’s an organisation that is being set up to manage all of these ongoing risks,” he said.

Burnham met with survivors of the tragedy, including Irene Hollett, a former pupil at Pantglas school, who said it was a difficult time but that it was important for her to speak about what happened.

“A lot of stuff comes back to you. You feel grateful that you are still around 60 years on, but then you miss your friends and family that we lost at the time,” she said.

“You can fell a bit of guilt that you are still here.

“It’s a difficult time, but it’s got to happen. All of this has to happen for nothing ever to be forgotten”.

She said the conversation she and her fellow survivors had with the prime minister was “pleasant”.

“We were laughing about being naughty in school, how we played truant, and we just chatted about who we were and how we are all together today,” she said.

Pupils from Caegarw Primary School in nearby Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, were on a visit to the memorial garden – built on the site of the destroyed Pantglas School, on Monday morning – unaware that the prime minister would also be there.

Burnham met pupils including Ellis, 10, whose granddad travelled across the valley to Aberfan to help with the rescue effort.

“It means a lot to me and he tells me stories,” said Ellis, who described visiting the memorial garden as “emotional”.

Holly, aged 10 from Caegarw, also told the prime minister she had a personal connection with the tragedy.

“I told him about my godmother’s daughter being one of the children who passed away in the disaster,” she said.

“He said ‘wow’. It means a lot for us to be here.”

Burnham stopped to chat with local residents after visiting the garden before heading to the nearby community centre.

King Charles III, Queen Camilla and Prince William will visit the town on Wednesday to mark the anniversary, following on from the late Queen Elizabeth II who visited Aberfan eight times.

Queen Elizabeth’s reaction to the disaster in Aberfan was said to be one of the biggest regrets of her 70-year reign.