Palm Springs explosion: ‘Body parts’ spotted in road as blast rips through IVF lab

'Intentional act of violence'

In a statement, Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said the incident is believed to be an "intentional act of violence". He said: "The Palm Springs Police Department is working in unified command for a vehicle explosion at 1199 N. Indian Canyon. The blast appears to be an intentional act of violence and the blast extends for blocks with several buildings damaged, some severely. "Assistant Director Davis of the FBI is on scene working closely with PSPD. The agents and officers are on scene and will make a determination as to who takes the investigative lead. There has been one fatality, the person’s identity is not known. If residents find potential evidence, please leave it in place and call the non-emergency phone number. "Agents or officers will collect the evidence. Our first priority is to make the scene safe for our community. Thanks for your patience. The incident appears to be isolated."

Specialist officers investigate the scene

Aerial footage showed a burned-out car in a parking lot behind the building that housed the fertility clinic’s office space. The blast caved in the building’s roof and blew a wide debris field across a sidewalk and four lanes of the street on the other side of the structure.

Rhino Williams, 47, was chatting with customers at a restaurant he helps manage inside the Skylark Hotel just over a block away from the scene when he heard a huge boom. Everything rattled, he said, and Williams — who has a background in aviation — immediately sprinted to the scene to see if anyone was in need of help, thinking a helicopter might have crashed. Williams saw a large dark gray plume of smoke and covered his nose with his shirt as he smelled burning plastic and rubber. He said he saw a building had “blown out” into the street, with bricks and debris scattered everywhere, and spotted a car’s front axle on fire in the building’s parking lot. He said it was the only car in the lot that he saw. He ran into the building, calling out and peering behind the counter to see if anyone was inside. He did not hear a response and did not see anyone behind the counter. Williams said he ran around to check on other nearby buildings. Multiple windows of the neighboring liquor store were also blown out, he said. Once he saw authorities arrive, he headed back to the hotel.

Two people missing

Two people have been reported missing along with the reported fatality, local reports have said. Nima Tabrizi, 37, of Santa Monica, said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion. “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke,” Tabrizi said. “Crazy explosion. It felt like a bomb went off. ... We went up to the scene, and we saw human remains.” Tabrizi added that the explosion didn't seem to him to come from a car.

FBI statement - bomb technicians on the scene

The FBI has confirmed its bomb technicians on the scene. A statement said: "The FBI is responding with police [and] fire partners to the scene of an explosion on N Indian Canyon Dr in PalmSprings. FBI assets being deployed include investigators, bomb technicians & an evidence response team. Please contact local authorities for safety precautions in the area." The US attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, said: "We are aware of the explosion that occurred this morning in Palm Springs. "FBI is on scene and will be investigating whether this was an intentional act. We will release as much information as possible once we are able to confirm details."

'Quite a bit of damage' - Mayor

Mayor Ron DeHarte told The Post authorities are "still trying to determine a cause". He said: “The police and fire are down there right now. First, we heard it might be a helicopter crash or a gas leak but that’s been ruled out. We should know pretty quickly what it was. There was quite a bit of damage to surrounding buildings as well.”

Staff accounted for - lab boss

Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic where the explosion occurred, said all of his staff were safe and accounted for. The explosion damaged the practice’s office space, where it conducts consultations with patients, but left the IVF lab and all of the stored embryos there unharmed. “I really have no clue what happened,” Abdallah said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”

FBI on the scene

The FBI is on the scene following the explosion along. Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are also on their way, spokesperson Nicole Lozano said.

Governor Gavin Newsom briefed

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the situation, a statement from his office said. Newsom was "been briefed on the explosion at a health facility in Palm Springs", the statment said, adding:the state is acting with the governor's office and with local and federal authorities to "support the response".

Possible vehicle explosion

Lieutenant William Hutchinson from the Palm Springs Police Department said: "We’ve got a vehicle that appears to have exploded".

At least one fatality

There has been at least one fatality reported by officials.

Terrorism not ruled out - cops

Cops have not yet ruled out a potential terrorist motive. "Everything is in question, whether this is an act of terrorism," Lieutenant William Hutchinson from the Palm Springs Police Department said the The Desert Sun.

'It shook me'

One resident said they were jogging a short distance away from the American Reproductive Centres when the blast occured. "It was so loud it shook me," Tamara Cash told The Desert Sun. "All I could hear was alarms going off in different buildings."

'Strange odour'

Locals have also reported smelling a strange odour in the wake of the blast. First responders have continued to arrive at the scene.

'There is great concern this may have been a bomb'

Authorities in Palm Springs have made no official confirmation or statement yet. A local NBC reporter reiterated the cause of the reported blast is unknown, but that the police response has heightened concerns "this may have been a bomb". This is not confirmed and remains speculation. Authorities have asked the public to stay away from the area.

Windows blown out along the street

Windows facing the road along the street in Palm Springs have been blown out.

'Structure fire' say firefighters

Local reports say firefighters responded to a "structure fire" at a building in Palm Springs. Images from the scene posted to social media shows a the building, operated by American Reporductive Centres, with a hole in the side close to the road. Debris can be seen strewn across the road with firefighters present at the scene.

Locals report hearing 'loud explosion'

Several locals took to social media to report hearing a loud explosion. "The explosion shook my entire house," one person wrote on social media. One concened citizen said: "Does anybody know what that massive explosion was in Palm Springs that shook the house? Now I'm hearing fire trucks."

Officials have not yet confirmed an explosion

We are still waiting to hear confirmation from city officials that there has been an explosion. Numerous videos and images on social media - which remain unverified - show a building and road covered in debris.

"Felt super strong," another said.

Explosion reported

Firefighters have repsonded to reports of an explosion at around 11am local time today.