( CNN ) -- It 's been 19 months since the Costa Concordia , one of the largest cruise liners ever built , ran aground off the west coast of Italy , killing 32 passengers and capsizing after granite rock tore a 50-meter hole in the ship 's hull . Now the rotting 952-foot wreck has been raised from its partially-submerged resting place off the Tuscan island of Giglio in what engineers say is a risky and unprecedented operation . The salvage team used cables attached to hydraulic pumps to rotate the ship upright -- a process known as `` parbuckling '' -- from the seabed onto a platform , which consists of a series of cement bags and huge under-water steel structure . After repairs are made to the previously submerged side of the Concordia , giant steel `` caissons , '' or boxes , on the sides of the ship will be pumped full of air and the cruise liner will theoretically float to the surface and be towed to a nearby seaport -- hopefully all in one piece . Success was anything but guaranteed : Engineers had warned they would only have one shot at parbuckling the ship -- and any error during the hours-long process could have seen the ship break apart , or over-rotate off the underwater platforms and sink completely . More than 500 people have been working around the clock on the rescue , which is being overseen by Florida-based Titan Salvage and the Italian firm Micoperi . The final bill will be at least $ 400 million , according to the salvage project 's website . But the raising of the Concordia is far from the end of the story . The bodies of two passengers are still yet to be retrieved from the wreckage of the $ 570 million ship , which was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it struck the granite rocks off Giglio on January 13 , 2012 . Even after the parbuckling and the repairs to the starboard side of the 114,500-ton vessel , the salvage crew will still have to wait for winter to pass before it can be towed to a nearby seaport to be taken apart . It could also take years to fully restore Giglio 's pristine waters and marine life to their previous state . The island is part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park , the largest protected marine area in the Mediterranean . Five members of the Concordia 's staff were sentenced in July to short prison terms for their roles in the disaster . Francesco Schettino , the ship 's captain , is being tried separately on charges of manslaughter , causing a maritime disaster and abandoning ship . His trial is set to resume in late September . CNN 's Erin McLaughlin and CNN Wires contributed to this report .
Wreck of the Costa Concordia , one of the largest cruise ships ever built , raised from sea bed . 952-foot ship ran aground in January 2012 on Tuscan island of Giglio , killing 32 passengers . Score: 6 Raising of Concordia is only first phase -- ship must then be dismantled at nearby port .