A beekeeper rescued motorists and emergency workers who had to flee the scene of a crash near Thessaloniki when thousands of bees escaped from a truck which was transporting them, police said yesterday.

The accident happened in Diavata, on the old Thessaloniki-Edessa national road, late on Wednesday night. The truck, which was carrying 50 beehives, collided with a car. Nobody was seriously injured in the crash but thousands of bees swarmed out of the truck and attacked motorists who had stopped to help the drivers. Two people were taken to hospital after being stung.

An ambulance crew and firefighters, who arrived shortly afterward, were also driven away by the swarm.

Authorities called in a local beekeeper to help get the situation under control. The area was sealed off and the beekeeper slowly coaxed the bees back to their beehives.