Costa Concordia begins salvage operation
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Carnival subsidiary Costa Cruises is beginning a parkbuckling operation to salvage the wreck of its 114,000GT vessel, the Costa Concordia.
The ship, which hit rocks off the coast of the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012, has been lying on its side ever since the incident that killed 32 passengers and left two unaccounted for.
The Italian Civil Protection agency, which is conducting the operation, had wanted to start the operation yesterday (15 September) but was forced to delay it because of bad weather.
An operation of this size has never been attempted before, the BBC reports, with salvage workers having attached 50 huge chains and cables to the vessel, which will roll the vessel upright.
If all goes to plan, the ship should be sitting on a specially prepared underwater platform by the end of the day.
After that stage of the operation has been completed authorities say they will begin maintenance before it is towed away and destroyed.
The leader of the operation, Nick Sloane, told the AFP news agency that the ship had to be moved now because the hull might not survive another winter.
Five people have been convicted of manslaughter for the disaster while the trial of Captain Schettino is ongoing.
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