Italian officials have given the go-ahead for an unprecedented salvage operation to lift the 114,500-ton Costa Concordia cruise ship from its side.
"Parbuckling operations of the Costa Concordia will begin tomorrow," the civil protection agency, which is overseeing the 600 million euro (USD 798 million) project, said in a statement.
Parbuckling is the technical term for lifting a ship that is lying on its side into a vertical position, with later plans to refloat the cruise liner and tow it away.
Salvage workers say the ship has to be removed as soon as possible before autumn storms further weaken the hull, 20 months after the giant luxury liner crashed and keeled over just off the tiny island of Giglio in Tuscany, claiming 32 lives.
