1968 Mine Disaster

FILE - In this Nov. 20, 1968, file photo, three women sit together in a small store near the Mountaineer Coal Co. No. 9 mine near Farmington, W.Va., as they wait for word on the fate of the miners trapped underground by explosions and fire. It's been nearly half a century since 78 men perished in the Farmington No. 9 mine disaster in West Virginia, but to those who lost loved ones, the questions have never been answered. This week, families of the lost miners will ask a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit they filed in 2014. (AP Photo/File)