A ferry involved in an accident in April that left more than 100 people injured collided with driftwood, not a whale as initially suspected, according to Japan Coast Guard officials.
The Kagoshima office of the coast guard reached the conclusion Thursday after it detected fragments of wood from a dent in the ferry's hull caused by the accident, in addition to the fact that many logs were floating in the area at that time, they said.
In the April 9 accident, the high-speed ferry Toppy-4 struck an object that the coast guard and ship operator said was possibly a whale off Kagoshima Prefecture.
About 110 passengers and crew members sustained injuries in the accident.