Bird’s-eye View of Costa Concordia Wreck – UPDATE

SEE ALSO: Costa Concordia Parbuckling in Photos

With the parbuckling of the Costa Concordia nearly upon us, I thought this recent aerial photo of the wreck site gives us a good view of what we’re salvors are working with. The image was taken from an Italian navy helicopter on August 26, 2013 as final preparations were being made for the uprighting operation.

Hi-res image HERE

The parbuckling, or rotation of the ship to its upright position, is expected to begin early Monday morning and take anywhere from 8 to 12, weather and conditions permitting.

Here’s a front-view animation of the operation to give you an idea what’s under the water.

If all goes well, additional caissons, which are essentially watertight chambers, will be attached to the ships starboard side before she is re-floated (in one piece) and towed to Piombino for disassembly.

A live webcam of the parbuckling can be found at Giglionews.it.

Above background aerial image (c) REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi