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Three police officers lost their lives and no fewer than 15 additional individuals got wounded in an apparently intentional detonation from gas at a country home in Italy's north.

Event Timeline

The blast was triggered as officers and emergency crews approached the residence close to the Verona region to execute an eviction order for three siblings who were older adults.

The three victims who died belonged to the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

Two individuals were arrested at the site and another man who fled after the incident was apprehended soon after. All three have been transported to medical facility.

The detonation could be audible some 5km (3 miles) away and images from the scene showed the building left as a heap of debris.

“We are in a period of mourning,” commented the Minister of the Interior the Interior Minister, who noted that attempts had been made to remove the three family members in the previous occasions.

Financial Context

The head of the region of Veneto, Luca Zaia, explained the farmhouse was subject to an eviction order due to financial obligations accumulated by the property owners.

Negotiators had been sent to speak to the siblings who had barricaded themselves into the house. When the police arrived soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials think a family member triggered the blast.

“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” provincial police commander the police commander told reporters.

“A gas cylinder had been ignited, and the blast immediately struck our officers,” he explained.

Incendiary devices were also found at the site, the interior minister confirmed.

Impact Assessment

Those injured by the incident consisted of eleven more officers of the military police as well as three officers of national police and a fire services member.

As stated by the Verona prosecutor, the farmhouse was in a poor condition and had no electricity.

He believed the blast had happened on a floor above the access point and told journalists it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Just prior to the blast, he said members had “noticed a hissing sound, probably the propane tanks being turned on”.

Community Reaction

“We all knew the situation was dire,” neighbors told Italian media, noting that the three had in the past stated to “detonate the property” rather than be evicted.

“The blast resulted in a ‘horrific, deeply distressing and tragic cost’.”

The Defense Minister the Defence Minister joined other political leaders in commemorating the trio of personnel who had lost their lives in the line of duty.