The Successful raising and removal of the Costa Concordia wreck brings some consolation to those following the incident. It concludes a saga that commenced on the evening of 13 January 2012 when the 114,150gt liner hit a rock off the Italian island of Giglio and capsized. Although 4,220 people were saved, tragically 32 lost their lives, and the structural damage and submersion meant that there were problems with recovering some of the remains. The salvage operation was carried out in two stages: firstly, during September 2013, the righting of the vessel from its capsized position, lying on the starboard side, and positioning it upright - parbuckling - on steel platforms as a secure base to ride out the winter of 2013/2014; secondly to raise the vessel from this position so that it could be towed away for breaking. The ship's owners, Costa Crociere (part of the Carnival group), estimate the operation to remove the wreck from the reef and tow it for scrapping will have cost €1.5Bn (£1.2Bn, US$2Bn) in total.
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