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Three police officers perished and at least 15 additional individuals were hurt in what appears to be premeditated gas explosion at a country home in Italy's north.

How It Happened

The detonation was triggered as officers and emergency crews approached the property close to Verona to carry out an removal notice for two brothers and a sister in their late 50s and mid-60s.

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

Arrests and Aftermath

One male and one female were taken into custody at the scene and a third person who fled after the explosion was located soon after. Each of them have been taken to medical facility.

The detonation could be noticed some 5km (3 miles) away and photographs from the location showed the building turned into a mass of wreckage.

“This moment calls for sorrow,” commented the Minister of the Interior the Interior Minister, who noted that efforts had been made to evict the brother and sister trio in the earlier times.

Property Situation

The president of the Veneto region, the regional head, stated the property was facing an removal notice due to unpaid amounts accrued by the siblings.

Mediators had been dispatched to engage the siblings who had barricaded themselves into the house. When the police reached the location soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators suspect a family member triggered the detonation.

“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” local police chief Claudio Papagno told news outlets.

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

Molotov cocktails were also discovered at the residence, the minister stated.

Injuries and Destruction

Those injured 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.

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

The prosecutor was convinced the blast had occurred on a story above the doorway and told reporters it was a “intentional and planned killing”. Moments before the blast, he mentioned members had “heard a whistle, presumably the gas cylinders being turned on”.

Neighbor Statements

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents stated to reporters, noting that the three had earlier warned to “cause an explosion” rather than vacate the property.

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

The Defense Minister the Defence Minister stood alongside other political leaders in commemorating the trio of personnel who had died in the line of duty.