Chennai, June 26 (IANS): Even as the search for a missing Indian Coast Guard Dornier aircraft with three crew members continued for the 19th day on Friday, the family members are hopeful of the safe return of their loved ones.

"We are sure our son will be found. The Coast Guard is giving us information on the search status," Padma Suresh, mother of Subash Suresh, one the missing crew, told IANS.

The family members of another missing crew, M.K. Soni, with the help of Coast Guard went to Pichavaram area on Friday.

A reporter at the scene told IANS: "Soni's wife was calling out for her husband with tears in her eyes."

The family declined to speak to the media.

The Coast Guard said it was continuing its search operations.

The Indian Navy's submarine Sindhudhwaj has resumed its search for the missing aircraft based upon fresh inputs provided by the Naval Operations Data Aalysis Centre.

The Dornier aircraft with three crew members -- all in their 30s -- went missing on June 8 night while returning to base after a surveillance sortie.

The Coast Guard and the navy have been searching for the plane since then but without result.