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Three police officers lost their lives and more than a dozen people got wounded in what appears to be intentional gas explosion at a farmhouse in Italy's north.

How It Happened

The blast was triggered as officers and emergency crews approached the residence near Verona to enforce an eviction order for two brothers and a sister in their late 50s and mid-60s.

Each of the three deceased individuals were members of the Carabinieri force.

Legal Proceedings

Two individuals got detained at the scene and a third person who fled following the blast was located shortly later. Each of them have been transported to medical facility.

The detonation could be noticed approximately 5 kilometers away and photographs from the scene revealed the building turned into a mass of wreckage.

“This moment calls for sorrow,” said the Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who added that previous tries had been made to evict the three family members in the earlier times.

Financial Context

The leader of the region of Veneto, President Zaia, stated the property was subject to an removal notice due to debts accumulated by the three owners.

Mediators had been dispatched to speak to the brothers and sister who had secured themselves into the home. When the officers reached the location soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators believe one of the siblings triggered the blast.

“Upon entering the house, we were confronted with an act of absolute madness,” local police chief Claudio Papagno informed reporters.

A gas canister had been ignited, and the blast directly hit our personnel,” he said.

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

Injuries and Destruction

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

Based on information from the Verona prosecutor, the building was in a poor condition and had lacked electrical service.

The official thought the explosion had happened on a floor above the entrance and told the press it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Moments before the blast, he revealed officers had “detected a whistling noise, likely the gas canisters being opened”.

Neighbor Statements

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents stated to Italian media, noting that the three had previously threatened to “cause an explosion” rather than vacate the property.

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

Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto stood alongside other political leaders in paying tribute to the three men who had been killed in the line of duty.