First part of Costa Concordia rock reef removed

Salvage teams on Friday successfully removed the first part of a rock reef that gashed the side of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the Tuscan island of Giglio, sinking it in January. Workers cheered and boats sounded their horns as the operation was completed on the six-month anniversary of the accident that left 32 dead in one of Italy's worst maritime disasters since the Second World War. The piece of rock will remain on Giglio, where it may form part of a memorial for the victims. The remaining rock will be sectioned into two parts, which will be separately removed over the next few days. Overall removal operations, which involve refloating the giant liner, are expected to take up to a year to complete.