Chennai, July 23

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday arrived in Chennai to monitor the search operations of the AN-32 aircraft that went missing with 29 people on board.“Reached Tambaram to monitor operations on IAF AN-32 aircraft,” Parrikar tweeted upon his arrival at the suburban air force here.The aircraft of the Indian Air Force went missing on Friday over the Bay of Bengal on its way to Port Blair from here, raising concerns over its fate.A massive search operation has been launched by the IAF, Navy and the Coast Guard for tracking the upgraded plane which made the last radio contact at 8.46 am, 16 minutes after take-off from Tambaram air base on Friday.PRO of the Indian Navy, Captain DK Sharma said the Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard are engaged in intensive search operations to locate the aircraft.As per reports, INS Jalashwa is expected to reach the area on Saturday to assist in the search operations.The AN-32 are being used by the IAF to carry the personnel of the Army, Navy and the Air Force and Coast Guard and defence civilians posted in India’s only integrated command in Andaman and Nicobar.They also carry tonnes of materials like food items and medicines.This is the first time ever an AN-32 has disappeared over the Bay of Bengal.Apart from the Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force, the Tamil Nadu Coastal Police have also participated in the search operations in the possible area of lose of contact by the missing aircraft.The defence authorities have already informed of the incident to the families of the six crew members and the 23 other personnel. A submarine has also rushed to the probable area.The signals of the locator beacon of the aircraft hold the key to the search operation. Agencies