Police investigate fatal explosion near fertility clinic in Palm Springs

Officials in Palm Springs, California are investigating an explosion on Saturday morning that killed one person and damaged a fertility clinic.

The explosion happened just before 11:00 local time (19:00 BST) less than a mile from downtown Palm Springs, near several businesses including the American Reproductive Centres.

In a statement, the fertility clinic said no one from their facility was harmed but that one person was killed and several were injured.

California governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement that the state is coordinating with local and federal authorities to respond to the incident.

The American Reproductive Centres in Palm Springs said that a vehicle had exploded in the parking lot near its building.

It is unclear what the cause of the explosion was.

US attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said in a post on X that the Justice Department was "aware of the explosion that occurred this morning in Palm Springs".

He said the FBI are on the scene and are investigating if "this was an intentional act."

The fertility clinic said their lab, including all eggs and embryos, remain "fully secure and undamaged".

"We are heavily conducting a complete safety inspection and have confirmed that our operations and sensitive medical areas were not impacted by the blast," the fertility clinic said in its statement.

The BBC has reached out to the Palm Springs Police Department for comment.

This is a developing story.

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