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A trio of officers perished and no fewer than 15 additional individuals were hurt in what appears to be intentional blast caused by gas at a country home in northern Italy.

Sequence of Events

The detonation was triggered as police and firefighters approached the property near the city of Verona to execute an court-ordered eviction for two brothers and a sister aged in their 50s and 60s.

Each of the three deceased individuals served in the Carabinieri military police.

Arrests and Aftermath

Two individuals were arrested at the scene and one more individual who ran away after the explosion was found not long after. All three have been transported to medical facility.

The explosion could be noticed as far as 3 miles distant and photographs from the location showed the building left as a pile of rubble.

“We are in a period of mourning,” said the Interior Minister Minister Piantedosi, who mentioned that efforts had been made to evict the three siblings in the earlier times.

Property Situation

The head of the Veneto region, the regional head, said the farmhouse was subject to an eviction order due to debts accumulated by the three owners.

Mediators had been sent to speak to the siblings who had barricaded themselves into the property. When the police arrived soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials suspect one of the residents caused the blast.

“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” local police chief Commander Papagno told reporters.

“A gas cylinder had been activated, and the explosion directly hit our personnel,” he added.

Incendiary devices were also found at the property, the Interior Minister stated.

Casualties and Damage

Injured individuals by the blast included an additional 11 personnel of the military police as well as three members of national police and a fire services member.

As stated by the Verona prosecutor, the building was in a poor condition and had lacked electrical service.

The official was convinced the explosion had occurred on a level above the doorway and told journalists it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Shortly before the blast, he said personnel had “detected a whistling noise, presumably the propane tanks being activated”.

Local Response

“Everyone was aware the circumstances were severe,” neighbors informed local news, noting that the three had previously threatened to “detonate the property” rather than leave the house.

“The explosion had left a ‘terrible, very painful and dramatic toll’.”

The Defense Minister the Defence Minister joined other political leaders in paying tribute to the three men who had lost their lives in the line of duty.