Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a panel of experts to organize an external debt restructuring in search of a way out of the deepening economic crisis, while protests demanding his resignation intensify, AFP reported.

Food and fuel shortages, along with record inflation and regular power outages, have been an unprecedented blow to the people of Sri Lanka, which is experiencing its worst recession since independence from Britain in 1948.

Rating agencies have warned of a possible default on the country's $51 billion foreign debt, with the authorities unable to obtain more commercial loans due to a credit rating downgrade.

The Rajapaksa government is preparing for bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund, and finance ministry officials told AFP experts will prepare a program for sovereign bondholders and other creditors to cut costs.

Sri Lanka is keen to avoid a hard default. It will be a debt restructuring based on negotiations with the help of the IMF, an anonymous source told the agency.

Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana warned on Wednesday that the economic crisis could lead to famine if action is not taken within a week.

Meetings with the IMF are due to start next week, but Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is the president's brother, resigned Sunday night, along with nearly the entire cabinet.

The country still cannot find a replacement for him, and his successor left his post after just one day.

Public anger reaches its peak, crowds of people try to storm the houses of several statesmen and demand the president's resignation.