Delegates attend the accident's commemoration. — VNA/VNS Photo

ALGIERS — Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Trần Quốc Khánh laid a wreath at the memorial plaque located on the Journalistes Việt Nam 8/3/1974 Street, Bir Mourad Raïs District, Algiers on Thursday, in memory of the Algerian journalists who died in an accident in Việt Nam 50 years ago.

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

To remember the deceased, both Việt Nam and Algeria erected memorial plaques in each country. In Việt Nam, a memorial site was built at the location of the accident - in Hà Nội’s outlying district of Sóc Sơn, during the State visit to Việt Nam 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 Việt Nam" in the capital city.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ambassador Khánh attended a forum held by Algeria's national newspaper El Moudjahid and dedicated to commemorating the journalists. — VNS