Final preparations are underway to refloat the sunken cruise liner Costa Concordia, before it makes its final journey.
The 114,500-tonne vessel struck a reef off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January 2012. Its hulk was secured in a complex operation last September.
On July 14, the liner will be refloated before being towed to the Italian port town of Genoa a week later. Up to 80 percent of it will be broken up and used for scrap, making it the largest maritime salvage in history.
A criminal investigation is underway. The ship’s captain Francesco Schettino is accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.
He admits to making mistakes but says he should not be the only person blamed for the catastrophe, in which 32 people died.
