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Three police officers were killed and at least 15 people sustained injuries in a seemingly intentional blast caused by gas at a farmhouse in the northern part of Italy.

How It Happened

The detonation was triggered as law enforcement and fire personnel went into the property close to the city of Verona to carry out an removal notice for a brother and sister trio in their late 50s and mid-60s.

Each of the three officers killed were members of the Carabinieri military police.

Arrests and Aftermath

A man and a woman got detained at the scene and one more individual who fled following the blast was located shortly later. Each of them have been transported to the hospital.

The explosion could be heard approximately 5 kilometers away and footage from the area displayed the building reduced to a pile of rubble.

“This is a time for grieving,” said the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, who mentioned that attempts had been made to evict the three family members in the earlier times.

Property Situation

The leader of the region of Veneto, Luca Zaia, said the residence was facing an removal notice due to financial obligations accrued by the siblings.

Negotiators had been dispatched to speak to the family members who had secured themselves into the home. When the officers came just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials think a family member set off the explosion.

“As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” regional commander the police commander informed news outlets.

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

Incendiary devices were also found at the residence, the interior minister said.

Injuries and Destruction

Those injured by the incident consisted of 11 other members of the Carabinieri as well as a trio of personnel of the state police and a firefighter.

According to the prosecuting attorney, the building was in a derelict state and had lacked electrical service.

He was convinced the blast had happened on a level above the doorway and stated to journalists it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Just prior to the explosion, he revealed officers had “detected a whistling noise, presumably the gas canisters being turned on”.

Community Reaction

“We all knew the situation was dire,” neighbors informed reporters, noting that the three had earlier warned to “detonate the property” rather than be evicted.

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

Defence Minister the Defence Minister stood alongside other elected representatives in paying tribute to the three men who had been killed in the line of duty.