Officials say more time and money will be needed to safely remove the Costa Concordia cruise ship from the rocks off Tuscany where it capsized last year.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the grounding, officials on Saturday stressed the unprecedented nature of the removal given the massive size of the ship — 112,000 tons — its precarious perch on the rocks off Giglio island's port and the delicate marine environment they are trying to preserve.
Maria Sargentini, president of the environmental oversight group for the Concordia, said there is still some risk of pollution when the ship is righted, even though some 2,000 tons of fuel were already pumped out. Sewage and tons of rotten food remain and could leak.
Thirty-two people were killed in the disaster.
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