GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — The Guyana Government says it will begin operations at midday on Wednesday to refloat the sunken MV Barima using specialised flotation equipment as rescue and recovery efforts enter a critical new phase.

The MV Barima capsized Saturday night, resulting so far in the deaths of 53 people, including 15 children and the rescue of 76 others.

Authorities say the search continues for the estimated 70 people still unaccounted for after the 87-year-old vessel sank as it made its way from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, a small village within the Barima-Waini administrative region of the country.

“We are continuing all night. There is a plan also being discussed now between the technical people, the Coast Guard and the expertise that came in. We are going to try to activate that plan by midday tomorrow,” President Irfaan Ali said during a late-night briefing on Tuesday with families of those still missing following the maritime tragedy.

He assured them that technical teams and emergency responders would continue working around the clock until every possible effort has been exhausted. He said the operation will involve using flotation devices in an effort to move the vessel from the seabed.

President Ali said it allows responders greater access to continue the rescue and recovery mission and that additional divers and specialised assets are scheduled to arrive early Wednesday to support the operation.

Ali said teams from the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, police, private sector partners and civilian volunteers will maintain their search throughout the night.

President Ali said the Government has utilised advanced seabed mapping technology, with support from ExxonMobil, to determine the vessel’s exact position and guide recovery efforts. The survey revealed that the vessel is resting on its starboard side on the seabed, with its stern closest to the shoreline.

“We have not ruled out rescue just yet,” he told the families.

The official manifest had 116 passengers and a 17-member crew but the authorities said that as many as 179 passengers and crew may have been on board the vessel.

Guyana’s Prime Minister Mark Phillips said that “based on the fact that they had 179 passengers on board…there is a likelihood that they may encounter more bodies there”.

“But right now, the focus and the concentration is on searching and recovering as much as possible bodies from the vessel,”  Phillips said, adding that the authorities are also facilitating the release of bodies to loved ones.