A small snail has been blamed for a massive power failure that brought parts of Japan's high-speed rail network to a complete standstill last month.

Around 12,000 passengers were delayed after power to several railway lines in the southern part of Japan stopped working one day at the end of May. The power outage occurred in the morning, in the middle of rush hour, and a total of 26 trains were cancelled.

Japan is known for its extensive network of efficient high-speed trains, carrying thousands of passengers every day.

During a later inspection of the train network's electrical equipment, a dead snail was discovered, writes CNN.

Burned to death

The snail had entered through a hole in an electrical box and was subsequently burned to death after touching an electrical cable, according to a spokesperson for the company that operates the trains.

– We haven't heard of power outages caused by snails in recent years. If we find a hole when inspecting the equipment in the future, we will fix them, says a spokesperson, according to CNN.

Despite the snail being discovered on the same day, and shortly after the power cut, the cause was not revealed until more than a month later.

Source: svt.se