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A civil protection recognition plane crashed last Tuesday at Ferhat-Abbas airport in Jijel, mowing the lives of four crew members in the middle of the investigation mission. The drama has upset the whole nation. At the top of the tributes paid, the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, expressed his deepest condolences, welcoming the memory of these men who fell into the accomplishment of their mission.
As soon as the tragedy was announced, the President of the Republic expressed his strong emotion and his deep pain. In a message addressed to the families of the victims and to all civil protection staff, he paid tribute to those who lost their lives in this crash shortly after takeoff from Jijel airport. “It was with a deep affliction and a strong emotion that I learned the news of the crash of a helicopter falling under civil protection, which occurred after taking off for an education mission,” he said. He added: “In this painful tragedy, I would like to send all the executives and civil protection agents, as well as to the families of the victims, my sincere condolences and my deep compassion, praying to Allah Almighty to surround the martyrs of this noble humanitarian profession of His Holy Mercy. »»
The apparatus involved in the accident is a light Zlin type aircraft, used by civil protection for recognition, monitoring and instruction missions. This Tuesday, August 5, when he was carrying out a training mission, the plane crashed near the track of Ferhat-Abbas airport, a few minutes after takeoff. The results are heavy: four people died. It is Lieutenant-Colonel Redouane Bordji, commander of the Civil Protection Air Protection, Captain Soheib Ghellai, trainee pilot, an APTATA aviation school instructor, as well as a Chilean nationality technician affiliated with Air Tractor.
This routine flight transformed into a brutal tragedy stunned colleagues, relatives and the whole corporation. Especially since the accident left no survivor. No indication has yet been communicated on the causes of the crash, and a technical investigation was opened to determine their circumstances.
The Director General of Civil Protection, Colonel Boualem Boughelaf, presented, on behalf of all staff, his condolences to the families of the deceased, recalling that they “fell into the exercise of duty, faithful to their oath to serve and protect”. He added that “they gave their lives so that others were saved tomorrow. They are the honor of their uniform and the pride of the Republic ”.
Following this tragedy, the Minister of the Interior, Local Authorities and Spatial Planning, Brahim Merad, went to the scene yesterday. He met the civil protection executives, inspected the premises of the accident. He wanted to bow to the memory of the disappeared and presented, on behalf of the government, his most sincere condolences to the bereaved families. During the solemn funeral, the Minister praised the exemplary commitment of the victims and their unshakable dedication in the accomplishment of a mission as risky as noble.
The remains of the four victims were buried in an atmosphere of meditation, in the presence of several members of the government, including the Minister of Religious Affairs and Wakfs, Youcef Belmehdi, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as many senior state executives.
National funeral full of emotion
Drapes of the national emblem, the coffins of the four victims were carried by their brothers in arms, in a ceremony both sober and solemn, under the upset look of families, friends and members of the body of civil protection. The Minister of Religious Affairs and Wakfs, Youcef Belmehdi, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as official delegations took part in this national ceremony. Prayers, tributes and military greetings have punctuated this moment with an intense gravity, where words have sometimes given way to silence and tears.
Touched by this tragedy, the presidents of the two chambers of Parliament also expressed their solidarity. The president of the National People’s Assembly, Brahim Boughali, praised in an official message the courage of the victims, qualifying the drama “immense loss for the family of civil protection”. He presented his condolences to their families, while calling for remembering “their bravery, their discipline and their attachment to the public mission”.
For his part, the president of the Council of the Nation, Azzouz Nasri, published a compassionate message on social networks, in which he pays tribute to the agents “fallen into uniform, in the accomplishment of their duty”, designating them as examples of loyalty and sacrifice.
As a sign of mourning and respect, the wilaya of Jijel announced the immediate postponement of all the cultural, musical and festive events planned in the days following the drama. In a statement, local authorities justified this decision by the need to meditate and pay tribute to the victims, described as “martyrs of professional duty”.
Behind this accident, the whole nation is aware of the price paid by civil protection agents to guarantee everyone’s safety. In natural disasters, fires, road accidents, rescue interventions, they are on the front line. Their commitment, their discipline and their composure force respect.
Jijel’s accident will remain engraved in national memory as one of those moments when emotion goes beyond words. But beyond pain, he also recalls the daily selflessness of those who work in silence, as close as possible to the danger. Their memory will live in barracks, in training manuals, in the ceremonies to come and especially in the hearts of those they have formed, protected or inspired. That they rest in peace. The nation will not forget them.