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Three police officers were killed and more than a dozen additional individuals sustained injuries in an apparently intentional gas explosion at a rural property in Italy's north.

Event Timeline

The explosion was triggered as officers and emergency crews went into the property near the Verona region to enforce an court-ordered eviction for two brothers and a sister aged in their 50s and 60s.

The three deceased individuals were members of the Carabinieri military police.

Arrests and Aftermath

Two individuals got detained at the location and a third person who escaped following the explosion was apprehended soon after. Each of them have been transported to hospital.

The blast could be heard as far as 3 miles distant and footage from the location revealed the property turned into a heap of debris.

“We are in a period of mourning,” stated the Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who added that previous tries had been made to evict the brother and sister trio in the past.

Financial Context

The president of the Veneto area, President Zaia, said the property was facing an eviction order due to financial obligations incurred by the three owners.

Mediators had been assigned to talk with the siblings who had secured themselves into the house. When the police came soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials believe a family member set off the blast.

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

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

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

Casualties and Damage

Those injured by the explosion included eleven more officers of the military police as well as three officers of Italy's state police and a firefighter.

Based on information from the local prosecutor, the farmhouse was in a dilapidated shape and had was without power.

He thought the detonation had taken place on a floor above the doorway and told journalists it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Moments before the blast, he said members had “noticed a hissing sound, likely the gas canisters being opened”.

Neighbor Statements

“Everyone was aware the circumstances were severe,” local residents told reporters, adding that the three had in the past stated to “detonate the property” rather than be evicted.

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

Minister of Defence the Defence Minister joined other elected representatives in honoring the trio of personnel who had died in the service of their country.