MOSCOW — Russian officials on Wednesday retrieved the largest fragment so far of a meteor that exploded in February over the city of Chelyabinsk, but as divers and a mechanical winch lifted it from the bottom of a lake, the rock broke into three pieces, and then broke the scale — literally — when all together it weighed in at more than 1,250 pounds.

Although a hole in the ice of Lake Chebarkul, southwest of Chelyabinsk, had made clear where the meteorite fragment landed, it took seven months of searching and a detailed sonar analysis to pinpoint its location, at a depth of about 40 feet and covered by about 8 feet of silt.

It then took another month of planning and work to prepare to lift it, a process that culminated Wednesday in front of a crowd gathered on the shore, with the events broadcast live on television.

After divers assured that the rock was secured with ropes, the regional governor, Mikhail Yurevich, hit a button to start the winch that pulled it to land.