Costa Concordia: Body of Last Missing Victim 'Hero' Russel Rebello Recovered after Nearly Three Years

The body of the last victim of the sunken Costa Concordia has been found.

The corpse, belonging to Indian waiter Russel Rebello, 33, was retrieved from inside a cabin on deck number eight.

The Concordia ship crashed into a reef in January 2012, took on water and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio, killing 32 people.

According to members of Ship Recycling, the company in charge of unloading the ship before it will be dismantled in Genova, Rebello's body was hidden by furniture and thus impossible to see until now.

Investigators said shreds of the work uniform worn by the waiter have been found on the body.

Rebello, a cruise waiter who was a native of Mumbai, was hailed a hero for saving lives before losing his own when the ship sank.

The married father-of-two had started working on the Concordia just a few months before Captain Francesco Schettino's notorious tragic "salute" to the island.

Witnesses said that as Schettino abandoned the ship, Rebello stayed on to help other passengers to safety and even gave one his own lifejacket.

India 'we are coming'

Rebello's brother, Kevin, told the Italian press he is ready to take Russel's body back to India.

"I had promised my family I would take him back, one day," he wrote on Facebook. "Our prayers have been listened to."

"Russel has been finally found in a cabin after more than 1,025 days," Kevin, who is currently in Italy, continued. "My heart was beating faster and my body was shaking, while I told my parents they could finally sigh with relief.

"We are now waiting for the DNA test results and all the procedures that will allow us to bury Russel with honour, respect and a welcome that is reserved to heroes. India we are coming".