Beijing, China ? An explosion in an illegal Chinese coal mine has killed eight miners and left an undetermined number missing, even as rescuers continued draining another flooded mine where at least 57 men are trapped and feared dead, officials and state-run media said Wednesday.

The blast in the central province of Henan struck Monday night, just hours after the mine had secretly reopened after being shut in a government safety crackdown, said a local government official contacted by phone.

In neighboring Shanxi province, workers continued Wednesday to pump water out of the Xinjing mine that flooded in an accident on May 18.

Family members gathered at the Xinjing mine say they’ve given up hope of their loved ones surviving but are waiting to take the bodies home for burial.