One of the largest and most daunting salvage operations ever undertaken is under way with an attempt to pull the shipwrecked Costa Concordia upright.

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

Righting the cruise ship is expected to take up to 12 hours.

Engineers have never tried to lift such a huge ship so close to land. Thirty-two people died when it hit rocks.

Live coverage of the attempt to pull the ship upright. There is no commentary on this broadcast.

A senior engineering official says the Costa Concordia still has not broken free of the rocks on which she is lying, the BBC's Alan Johnston reports from the scene.

The bodies of two of the dead, a passenger and a crew member, have never been recovered and may be found during the operation.

The Italian Civil Protection Authority said the sea and weather conditions had mostly been right for the attempt.

(Source: BBC)