Loose cow disrupts traffic on Thessaloniki highway

The news in Greek

Μια αγελάδα¹ περνούσε ανάμεσα στα αυτοκίνητα² σε αυτοκινητόδρομο³ κοντά στη Θεσσαλονίκη. Είχε φύγει από τον ιδιοκτήτη⁴ της στο Καλοχώρι. Η αστυνομία⁵ σταμάτησε την κίνηση⁶ για λίγη ώρα. Ο ιδιοκτήτης ηρέμησε την αγελάδα¹ και την πήρε. Κανείς δεν τραυματίστηκε.

αγελάδα (f.)
μεγάλο ζώο της φάρμας που δίνει γάλα και ζει συνήθως σε στάβλο ↩︎
αυτοκίνητο (n.)
όχημα με μηχανή που κινείται στον δρόμο και μεταφέρει ανθρώπους ↩︎
αυτοκινητόδρομος (m.)
μεγάλος δρόμος για γρήγορη κίνηση πολλών αυτοκινήτων ↩︎
ιδιοκτήτης (m.)
άνθρωπος που κάτι είναι δικό του, που το έχει στην ιδιοκτησία του ↩︎
αστυνομία (f.)
υπηρεσία του κράτους που ελέγχει την τάξη και την ασφάλεια ↩︎
κίνηση (f.)
πολλά οχήματα ή άνθρωποι που κινούνται μαζί σε έναν δρόμο ή χώρο ↩︎

Translation

A cow was walking between the cars on a motorway near Thessaloniki. It had escaped from its owner in Kalohori. The police stopped the traffic for a short time. The owner calmed the cow down and took it away. Nobody was injured.

Text comprehension

Question 1: Where had the cow escaped from before it went onto the highway near Thessaloniki?

The cow had escaped from its owner in Kalochori.

Question 2: What did the police do on the highway because of the cow?

The police stopped the traffic for a short time.

Vocabulary

Greek	English
αγελάδα (f.)	`cow`
αυτοκίνητο (n.)	`car`
αυτοκινητόδρομος (m.)	`motorway`
ιδιοκτήτης (m.)	`owner`
αστυνομία (f.)	`police`
κίνηση (f.)	`traffic`

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Read the full story

A loose cow on a busy motorway near the city of Thessaloniki in northern Greece caused disruption and concern for drivers on Monday morning, 20 April. The animal was seen moving between cars on the national highway at the Sindos (Σίνδος) section, an industrial and commercial area west of the city.

Greek public broadcaster ERT and other local media reported that the cow, described in some reports as a bull, had escaped from its owner in the nearby area of Kalochori (Καλοχώρι). After travelling a considerable distance, it reached the motorway, where it walked and ran among moving vehicles.

Video recorded by drivers and shared online shows the frightened animal trying to navigate between cars on the multi-lane road. Witnesses said the incident lasted for around 45 minutes, during which the cow remained on or near the traffic lanes, creating potentially dangerous conditions for motorists.

Loose cow disrupts traffic on Thessaloniki highway

According to the reports, the situation prompted a police response. Officers temporarily restricted or interrupted traffic in the area to protect both drivers and the animal. This allowed space for the cow’s owner to approach safely.

Eventually, as the cow attempted to leave the motorway, the owner managed to calm and secure the animal. The cow was then removed from the road without injuries being reported, and normal traffic flow was gradually restored.

Local coverage highlighted that such incidents are unusual but not impossible in semi-rural zones around major Greek cities, where livestock farms and busy highways sometimes lie close together. The event has drawn attention online, where the circulating video has been widely viewed, both for its unusual nature and the evident risks involved.

Info: ‘Greek Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Greek’, a language school dedicated to teaching Greek through various types of online courses, designed to support learners who want to find out how to learn Greek at their own pace.