Royal Navy divers are searching for a huge World War Two bomb which has been lost off the Suffolk coast as it was being towed out to sea to be safely detonated.
The 1,000lb device, thought to be German and dropped in 1942, was washed ashore at Felixstowe, a week ago, and hundreds of homes were evacuated.
Bomb disposal experts attached the device to a floating frame to tow it two miles out to sea to destroy it. But strong tides dislodged the bomb and Royal Navy divers have spent six days trying to relocate it.
An exclusion zone has been imposed to protect boats.
A Royal Navy spokesman Lt Cdr Mark Hankey said the bomb had been "misplaced" when one of its lift straps broke.
"It was slight technical malfunction, but it had the effect of disconnecting the marker buoy," he said.
He added: "If the operation had gone according to plan, it would have been dealt with by now, but sadly it didn't. We are throwing as many resources at it as we can."
He said water visibility was "horrific" and it was difficult for divers to operate in the fast current.
The unit is using an unmanned computer-operated submarine called Remus to try to locate the device.
Lt Cdr Hankey said: "I am confident it will be found. Our chances of finding it have been significantly enhanced by the use of the unmanned underwater vehicle.
"Once it as been located, a charge will be attached to it and it will be blown up in a controlled manner when everyone is at a safe distance."
A Navy spokesman said he understood the depth of water was not sufficient for a minehunter vessel with a camera to operate.
It had also not been possible to track the bomb with a GPS receiver because it would not work underwater.
The bomb was discovered a week ago by a workman who accidentally scooped it up in his digger bucket while working on new £10 million sea defences.
Lt Cdr Hankey said: "It is important to stress that the bomb is a lot safer than it was because it is now offshore."
The bomb is thought to be well away from shipping lanes used by vessels going in and out of Felixstowe, the biggest container port in Britain.
A local resident, Karen Sarrow, 35, of Felixstowe, said: "It is just a fiasco that they have managed to lose this enormous bomb. They should be really embarrassed. People have been saying that it is like something out of Dad's Army."
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