Algerian journalists dying in accident in Vietnam in 1974 commemorated

At the memorial plaque in Algiers (Photo: VNA)

Algiers (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Tran Quoc Khanh laid a wreath at the memorial plaque located on the Journalistes Viet Nam 8/3/1974 street, Bir Mourad Raïs district, Algiers on March 7, in memory of the Algerian journalists who died in an accident in Vietnam 50 years ago.

On March 8, 1974, 15 journalists and technicians from Algeria, along with 9 Vietnamese journalists and 3 flight crew members, lost their lives in a plane crash while accompanying then President of Algeria Houari Boumediene on his official visit to Vietnam.

To remember the deceased, both Vietnam and Algeria erected memorial plaques in each country. In Vietnam, a memorial site was built at the location of the accident - in Hanoi’s outlying district of Soc Son, during the State visit to Vietnam by President of Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika in October 2000. The site has undergone renovation by the municipal People's Committee and will be reopened on the 50th year since the accident. 

In 2013, the Algerian Government also erected a memorial plaque for the 15 journalists and named a street "Journalistes Viet Nam" in the capital city.

Earlier on March 6, Ambassador Khanh attended a forum held by Algeria's national newspaper El Moudjahid and dedicated to commemorating the journalists./.