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Three police officers perished and at least 15 additional individuals sustained injuries in what appears to be intentional gas explosion at a country home in northern Italy.

Event Timeline

The explosion took place as law enforcement and fire personnel entered the house in the vicinity of the city of Verona to carry out an removal notice for two brothers and a sister in their late 50s and mid-60s.

All three victims who died served in the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

One male and one female got detained at the location and another man who ran away after the explosion was located shortly later. Each of them have been taken to hospital.

The detonation could be heard some 5km (3 miles) away and photographs from the scene revealed the building reduced to a heap of debris.

“This is a time for grieving,” commented the Minister of the Interior Minister Piantedosi, who added that previous tries had been made to remove the brother and sister trio in the earlier times.

Financial Context

The president of the Veneto region, the regional head, said the property was facing an court order due to financial obligations accumulated by the siblings.

Negotiators had been dispatched to talk with the brothers and sister who had locked themselves into the property. When the Carabinieri reached the location shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities suspect one of the residents set off the blast.

“Upon entering the house, we were confronted with an act of absolute madness,” regional commander Commander Papagno informed reporters.

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

Petrol bombs were also located at the site, the Interior Minister confirmed.

Injuries and Destruction

Those injured by the blast comprised 11 other members of the Carabinieri as well as a trio of personnel of Italy's state police and a fire services member.

According to the Verona prosecutor, the building was in a derelict state and had no electricity.

The prosecutor thought the detonation had happened on a level above the access point and informed reporters it was a “intentional and planned killing”. Just prior to the explosion, he mentioned members had “detected a whistling noise, probably the gas cylinders being opened”.

Community Reaction

“Everyone was aware the circumstances were severe,” neighbors told local news, adding that the trio had earlier warned to “detonate the property” rather than vacate the property.

“The incident exacted a ‘dreadful, extremely sad and dramatic price’.”

Defence Minister Minister Crosetto stood alongside other elected representatives in honoring the three men who had lost their lives in the performance of their duties.