One crewman was dead and five others were seriously injured in the explosion aboard the Galaxy, a Seattle-based vessel used to catch and process Pacific cod.

The vessel was carrying a crew of 25 and an observer from the National Marine Fisheries Service at the time of the blast, a Coast Guard spokesman said. Eighteen of those on board were rescued by other fishing vessels in the area at the time of the blast.

"They reported that some people actually had been blown off the ship and into the water," said Chief Petty Officer Roger Wetherell, a Coast Guard spokesman.

Seeing at least one man struggling, "they tossed a life ring and then the person just wasn't there," he said.

The man who died was identified as Jose R. Rodas of Pasco, Wash.

The Coast Guard and National Guard were using helicopters to search a broad swath of the Bering Sea, about 30 miles southwest of St. Paul Island. St. Paul is about 750 miles southwest of Anchorage. Fishing vessels were assisting with the search.

Conditions in the search area were worsening, with 50 knot winds, 20 foot seas, freezing rain and blowing snow.

The missing men were identified as Jerry L. Stephens of Edmonds, Wash., the ship's first mate, and George F. Karn of Anchorage, the ship's cook.

The explosion occurred at about 4:40 p.m. Alaska Time Sunday.

Six men were trapped aboard the steel-hulled former Navy ship until a Coast Guard helicopter arrived on the scene Sunday night, Wetherell said. Three were found trapped in the wheelhouse and three trapped in the bow, all seriously injured and some unconscious with broken bones, hypothermia, third-degree burns and other injuries.

All six were taken alive from the vessel to St. Paul. Rodas died while waiting for an air ambulance to Anchorage, Wetherell said.

Two of the men were stabilized at the island clinic and three were flown to Anchorage early Monday. None of the five had life-threatening injuries, officials said.

Meanwhile, the captain of the ship, David Shoemaker of Carnation, was flown down to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment of burns to his chest and hands, as well as three broken ribs. He was listed in satisfactory condition Monday afternoon.

Three men wearing survival suits were pulled from the water and 15 people who had managed to get into a life raft were taken aboard the Blue Pacific, Glacier Bay and Clipper Express, other fishing boats that were in the area, Wetherell said.

"Obviously, we're going to take a very close look at this situation" to try to determine the cause, Wetherell said.

The blast and fire perplexed Galaxy Fisheries officials, said John Young, the company's lawyer.

"It's an absolute mystery. This is a first-class boat," Young told the Anchorage Daily News. "This is a boat that just shouldn't burn like that."

Two were listed in fair to serious condition at Providence Alaska Medical Center and one was in satisfactory condition at Alaska Regional Hospital.

State ship records show the boat was built for the Navy in 1942 and was later converted to pull miles of baited hooks through the treacherous Bering Sea and equipped for processing and freezing the fish, the Daily News reported.

Galaxy Fisheries bought the boat from another seafood company, UniSea, about five years ago, made extensive improvements and last had the vessel in dry dock in Seattle in July, Young told the newspaper.