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Three police officers lost their lives and at least 15 people were hurt in an apparently deliberate blast caused by gas at a country home in the northern part of Italy.

Sequence of Events

The explosion took place as officers and emergency crews approached the house in the vicinity of the Verona region to execute an eviction order for a brother and sister trio aged in their 50s and 60s.

Each of the three officers killed were members of the Carabinieri force.

Arrests and Aftermath

Two individuals were arrested at the scene and one more individual who fled subsequent to the explosion was located soon after. All three have been admitted to medical facility.

The blast could be heard as far as 3 miles distant and images from the location revealed the structure turned into a mass of wreckage.

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

Financial Context

The president of the Veneto region, President Zaia, said the property was facing an court order due to financial obligations accrued by the property owners.

Negotiators had been assigned to speak to the siblings who had barricaded themselves into the home. When the police arrived shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators believe a family member caused the explosion.

“As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” regional commander Claudio Papagno told news outlets.

A propane tank had been activated, and the blast immediately struck our personnel,” he said.

Molotov cocktails were also discovered at the site, the interior minister said.

Injuries and Destruction

Injured individuals by the explosion consisted of 11 other members of the military police as well as a trio of personnel of the state police and a firefighter.

Based on information from the Verona prosecutor, the farmhouse was in a derelict state and had was without power.

He believed the detonation had taken place on a floor above the entrance and told journalists it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Just prior to the incident, he revealed officers had “detected a whistling noise, probably the gas cylinders being turned on”.

Local Response

“All of us understood the scenario was critical,” nearby inhabitants stated to reporters, noting that the trio had previously threatened to “cause an explosion” rather than vacate the property.

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

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