The Spanish diver Israel Moreno, 42, died Saturday while working on tasks of preparing to tow the cruise ship Costa Concordia, which capsized off the coast of the Italian island of Giglio on January 13, 2012.

Moreno seriously injured his leg when he was working under the ship, and was assisted by a fellow diver out of the water but bled a lot.

The diver worked on the installation site of the cruise ship of the blocks that serve as buoys to which the vessel may be towed to port for decommissioning in June.

According to the reconstruction of the events, when his companion managed to get him to surface, Moreno was still alive and was immediately attended by the medical staff.

But his condition was very serious and rescuers were unable to revive him on the side of the Costa Concordia installed platform.

The diver was an employee of the company Underwater Contractors Spain (UCS), which is based in Cádiz, Spain.

The body of the Spanish diver was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Tuscany, and according to sources the Spanish embassy in Rome his family was notified.

The Italian media reported that prosecutors in Grosetto and the Port Authority opened an investigation.

In a statement, the head of the civil protection agency, Franco Gabrielli, expressed condolences for the death and recalled the dedication of people working on the wreckage, saying they had worked ``for two years without a break, in difficult conditions not without risks, to achieve the common goal of removing the Concordia from Giglio.''