QITAIHE, Heilongjiang - Rescuers on Wednesday continued searching for three miners who remained missing following a coal mine flood eight days ago, while 22 others have been rescued alive in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province.

Rescuers will never give up their search for the missing, said Xu Guangguo, head of the provincial rescue headquarters and vice-governor of Heilongjiang province.

The Hengtai Coal Mine flooded on August 23 when miners mistakenly drilled into a flooded neighboring mine, trapping 26 workers.

By Wednesday, 22 miners had been pulled alive from the pit.

Meanwhile, three remained trapped as of Wednesday and the body of one deceased miner was retrieved on Sunday.

The eye covers have been removed from those rescued, and they have started to eat, said Wang Xiujie, the lead doctor of the treatment team from the No 1 Hospital under Harbin Medical University.

Wang said their psychological conditions were also improving.

"Many of them are very optimistic and tough. Very respectable," he said.

He said mental health practitioners will be sent from the provincial capital of Harbin to help the miners.

The mine, located in Boli county in the city of Qitaihe, is one of many that had been operating illegally in recent years, despite the government's efforts to close small, outdated mines.

The provincial government had ordered the mine to stop production in 2007. However, the owner initiated production without permission on August 16, according to the local work safety bureau.