Costa Concordia: Salvage begins

The operation to lift the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship has begun.

More than fifty winches will try to pull the ship upright using cables which have been attached to the ship.

The operation was delayed for three hours because of an overnight storm but began shortly after 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT).

The luxury vessel has been stuck off the island of Giglio since running aground in January 2012.

The BBC's Alan Johnston reports from there.

We apologise for the poor picture quality in parts of Alan Johnston's report

  • Europe