Embassy commemorates Algerian journalists killed in 1974 Hanoi plane crash
A delegation of the Vietnamese Embassy in Algeria visited the memorial on the street named Journalistes du Vietnam 8/3/1974 in Algiers capital city on March 8 to commemorate the Algerian journalists who died in a plane crash on the outskirts of Hanoi in 1974.
The commemoration was attended by representatives of the local administration, the Algeria - Vietnam Friendship Association, and the provisional liaison board of the Vietnamese People Association in the North African country.
On March 8, 1974, 15 Algerian journalists and technicians of Algeria’s press agencies, nine Vietnamese journalists, and three crewmembers died in a plane crash in Hanoi’s Soc Son district while accompanying then Algerian President Houari Boumediene on an official visit to Vietnam
Both Vietnam and Algeria built monuments in each country to commemorate the incident. In Vietnam, a monument was inaugurated at the scene of the incident in Soc Son during then Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s State visit in October 2000. In Algeria, the memorial was placed on the Journalistes du Vietnam 8/3/1974 street in Algiers in 2013.
The annual commemoration reflects Vietnamese people’s tradition of expressing gratitude to those who contributed to the development of the two countries’ long-standing friendship.
On March 7, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Vinh attended a forum held by Algeria’s national daily El Moudjahid to pay tribute to the journalists who died in the 1974 incident. The event also saw the presence of former Algerian Ambassador to Vietnam Cherif Chikhi, colleagues of the victims, war veterans, and representatives of local media agencies.