Officials approve step in removing liner Costa Concordia

ROME, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Approval to rotate the sunken cruise ship Costa Concordia to an upright position could come by next week, Italian civil protection officers said Friday.

The rotation could be completed by the end of September.

It is considered a critical step in removing the ship from the rocks off Tuscany's Giglio Island, where it sank in January 2012, killing 32 people, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Officials from civil protection agencies met in Rome Friday and said certain documentation is required before the ship's massive hull can be rotated. They added bringing the ship upright will make it more stable and ensure it can be removed, possibly by the spring of 2014.