One person has been killed after an explosion at a fertility clinic in California.

Authorities are investigating a possible terrorist plot after a blast ripped through the American Reproductive Services building in Palm Springs shortly before 11am local time on Saturday.

Images of the scene show shattered glass and debris strewn across the street outside of the clinic. Black smoke can be seen rising from the building while firefighters battle to put out the flames.

The explosion left one person dead, the mayor said, without confirming the name of the victim.

The blast is thought to have come from a car parked outside the fertility clinic and IVF lab on North Indian Canyon Drive.

The make and model of the vehicle is unknown, and all that was left of it at the scene was an axel, according to reports.

“We’ve got a vehicle that appears to have exploded,” Lt William Hutchinson of the Palm Springs Police Department said. “It appears that we have a deceased person…Everything’s in question whether this is an act of terrorism, or what it is.”