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Three police officers lost their lives and no fewer than 15 others were hurt in a seemingly intentional blast caused by gas at a rural property in northern Italy.

How It Happened

The explosion occurred as law enforcement and fire personnel approached the property close to the Verona region to carry out an removal notice for two brothers and a sister aged in their 50s and 60s.

All three officers killed were members of the Carabinieri force.

Arrests and Aftermath

Two individuals were taken into custody at the scene and a third person who fled subsequent to the incident was found not long after. The trio have been taken to hospital.

The explosion could be heard some 5km (3 miles) away and photographs from the scene revealed the structure left as a heap of debris.

“We are in a period of mourning,” commented Interior Minister Minister Piantedosi, who noted that previous tries had been made to evict the three siblings in the earlier times.

Financial Context

The president of the Veneto region, the regional head, said the property was under an court order due to debts incurred by the siblings.

Conflict resolution experts had been sent to talk with the family members who had secured themselves into the house. When the officers arrived shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators think one of the residents set off the explosion.

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

“A gas cylinder had been set off, and the explosion directly hit our members,” he said.

Petrol bombs were also found at the residence, the Interior Minister stated.

Injuries and Destruction

The wounded by the blast consisted of 11 other members of the Carabinieri as well as three members of the state police and a emergency responder.

Based on information from the local prosecutor, the building was in a dilapidated shape and had no electricity.

He thought the detonation had occurred on a story above the doorway and told the press it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Moments before the explosion, he mentioned members had “heard a whistle, presumably the gas cylinders being activated”.

Community Reaction

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents told reporters, noting that the three had previously threatened to “blow themselves up” rather than be evicted.

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

Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto stood alongside other elected representatives in paying tribute to the three officers who had lost their lives in the performance of their duties.