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A trio of officers were killed and at least 15 additional individuals got wounded in what appears to be deliberate blast caused by gas at a rural property in Italy's north.

Event Timeline

The explosion was triggered as officers and emergency crews went into the house close to Verona to carry out an court-ordered eviction for a brother and sister trio aged in their 50s and 60s.

The three victims who died were members of the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

A man and a woman were arrested at the location and one more individual who fled following the incident was apprehended shortly later. All three have been transported to hospital.

The blast could be heard some 5km (3 miles) away and footage from the area displayed the structure reduced to a pile of rubble.

“We are in a period of mourning,” said Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who noted that previous tries had been made to remove the three siblings in the past.

Financial Context

The head of the Veneto area, President Zaia, explained the property was subject to an eviction order due to debts accrued by the three owners.

Conflict resolution experts had been assigned to engage the family members who had barricaded themselves into the property. When the officers reached the location just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities think a family member caused the explosion.

“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” provincial police commander Claudio Papagno stated to reporters.

A gas canister had been activated, and the detonation precisely impacted our members,” he added.

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

Impact Assessment

Injured individuals by the explosion consisted of an additional 11 personnel of the military police as well as three officers of Italy's state police and a emergency responder.

According to 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 informed the press it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Just prior to the incident, he mentioned members had “detected a whistling noise, probably the gas cylinders being turned on”.

Local Response

“Everyone was aware the circumstances were severe,” neighbors stated to reporters, adding that the trio had previously threatened to “detonate the property” rather than vacate the property.

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

Minister of Defence Minister Crosetto united with other political leaders in paying tribute to the trio of personnel who had been killed in the line of duty.