Lifeboat crews have spent the night at sea overseeing the collection of a broken-down tug off the coast of Great Yarmouth.
The towline from a tug towing a barge became entangled in the tug's propeller, and the coastguard was called at about 8.20pm last night.
A lifeboat crew from Gorleston was dispatched and has been on standby since to ensure the safety of people on both vessels, which are stranded around 10 miles north-east of Great Yarmouth.
Water officer Glynn Young said: 'The tug was towing a barge and they became entangled.
'The area of concern with entanglements is that the tug could potentially become unstable and turn over.'
The incident is currently ongoing, but a spokesman said a rescue tug would be sent to collect the barge before returning for the first tug.
It is not known how many people are on the two vessels.
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