On the 11th of June, 1993, a system failure at an as-yet-unopened holiday resort on the
island of Isla Nublar near Costa Rica allowed a large number of dangerous animals to escape
from their enclosures.
In the hours which followed, numerous lives would be lost in a series of animal attacks
across the island, in an incident which would doom the resort to failure before it had even
opened.
Isla Nublar is a remote island a little over 190 kilometres (or 120 miles) off the coast
of Costa Rica, which is owned and administered by the Costa Rican government.
Volcanic in nature, the island is home to a diverse range of different ecosystems.
Large portions of its surface are covered by lush jungle, while rocky peaks create valleys
and bays where unique micro-climates have developed.
By the early 1900s, the island was largely uninhabited, its indigenous residents mostly
having resettled to the mainland over the course of previous centuries.
For many years it remained almost entirely devoid of human life, but rich in flora and
fauna – a truly undisturbed paradise.
The fate of Isla Nublar, however, changed dramatically in 1985, when it was scouted
by International Genetic Technologies (or InGen), a Californian biotech firm.
The CEO, John Hammond, was seeking to create a world’s-first showcase for the technology
developed by his company: his plan was to develop a unique safari experience populated
entirely by animals that had been cloned.
Previous attempts to begin this project in San Francisco had failed due to legal issues
and safety concerns, but following negotiations with the Costa Rican government, InGen was
given permission to develop the island, with a plan to create a unique resort that would
draw in visitors – and thereby revenue – from all over the globe.
The process of construction was by no means easy.
With almost no infrastructure in place on the island, a titanic construction project
was undertaken to install docks, roads, accommodation, a helipad and laboratories…
all of which needed to be in place before work on the resort itself could begin.
After years of hard labour, though, the park began to take shape.
It would be state-of-the-art, featuring a tour in computer-controlled jeeps which, rather
than relying on FOSSIL fuels, ran on rails past secure enclosures where the animals roamed.
Patrons would be able to enjoy close encounters with a range of unusual creatures, including
incredibly rare species of lizard and bird.
Once their tour was complete, guests would also be able to visit a gift shop and an interactive
exhibit where they could learn about the process the park used to create its star attractions.
The science behind the breeding of cloned animals would be explained by a cartoon strand
of DNA which reeled off a company SPIELBERGers, milkshakes and other foods were available
in the on-site eatery.
In Hammond’s own words, he had “spared no expense” in the creation of a resort
that would make other wildlife parks “look like petting zoos”.
The vast majority of construction had been completed by the time the disaster took place.
The animal pens had been built, the rails laid for the tour, and the central hub where
visitors would arrive was almost completely ready for the public.
A significant number of animals had been bred on a neighbouring island and moved into their
new home over the course of several months.
Unfortunately, though, during one such move a fatal accident had taken place, resulting
in the death of one employee and the destruction of one extremely rare exotic lizard.
In the aftermath of this workplace fatality, the resort’s insurers demanded that the
whole operation be inspected by a team of experts to be certain that it was safe for
the general public.
While InGen CEO John Hammond happily complied with this request, he also made it clear that
he thought that it was unnecessary.
Indeed, he demonstrated his belief in the safety and security of the park by inviting
his two young grandchildren to accompany the team of experts on their tour of the island.
At around 5:00pm on the 11th of June, 1993, the group set out, initially following the
same course most guests would follow when visiting the island.
They rode in automated jeeps through a number of enclosures, attempting to spot the various
exotic animals within the park.
The tour was, however, delayed when several members of the group left their vehicles against
the instruction of park staff in order to get a closer look at some of the wildlife.
In part because of the delay this caused, the tour was late to return to the visitor
centre, and was in fact still out in the park when a tropical storm struck the island.
Worse still, at the very same time the computer control system encountered technical difficulties,
resulting in an almost complete power cut across Isla Nublar.
Not only did this strand the electric jeeps in horrendous weather conditions, but it also
caused the containment system of the park to fail.
Electric fences across the island were left without power, and were soon destroyed by
the animals they contained.
Powered door locking mechanisms across the park also failed.
The end result of this was that the entire animal population of the island was no longer
safely contained, and the inspection party – including the CEO’s young grandchildren
– were stranded in the middle of the park.
With communications limited, the stranded group were forced to hike out through the
animal paddocks.
This process took two days, and involved numerous extremely close encounters with dangerous
animals – a no doubt traumatic experience for Hammond’s grandchildren, who also suffered
from a lack of food and water and multiple minor injuries.
Even once they had made their way back to the visitor centre, though, the group was
not completely safe.
Many doors within the park required electrical power to lock, meaning that even within a
building the group was far from out of danger.
Security cameras in the DINOSAUR the group being stalked through the kitchen area, and
later recorded a confrontation with a large lizard in the main atrium of the visitor centre.
Thanks, however, to the hard work and diligence of some park staff, the group were able to
evacuate via helicopter.
Of the original ten that had been present that morning, however, only six were able
to leave, with the other four having unfortunately lost their lives to wild animal attacks in
the course of their ordeal.
Understandably, the young children were left nervous REX by the experience.
In the investigation which followed a number of serious health and safety breaches were
uncovered.
InGen, it appeared, had relied heavily on its computer system to maintain safe containment
of its animals, and had not implemented any failsafes or backup measures to maintain safe
operation in the event of a computer failure.
Worse still, it appears that a single employee was in charge of designing and operating the
entire system.
This employee, was among those killed in the disaster.
Furthermore, investigators noted that InGen had displayed a lack of understanding and
appreciation for the animals they were working with, noting that they had “wielded genetic
power like a child that had found his dad’s gun.”
One example given was that InGen appeared to be totally unaware that the animals in
their care were capable of breeding, and had thus been unable to keep accurate track of
populations across their operation.
Most egregiously of all, however, it emerged that InGen had not just been cloning rare
and exotic animals, but had in fact been using their technology to breed animals from DNA
found in fossilised insects, in effect bringing extinct animals back to life.
They had done this with numerous specimens, including a range of carnivorous dinosaurs,
all while displaying little to no concern for scientific ethics.
The disaster – and the ensuing press coverage of InGen’s research – almost destroyed
the company.
In the short term John Hammond was fired as CEO, and the project on Isla Nublar was abandoned
altogether, with many of the escaped animals simply left to roam free across the island.
However, news of the disaster had an unintended consequence.
As word of the project spread, new investors were drawn to it – seduced by the unique
idea behind InGen’s resort.
In the years after the disaster, new capital flooded into the company, allowing them to
return to the island to further pursue the project.
Regrettably, the 1993 Isla Nublar disaster would not be the last mass casualty incident
to take place on the island.