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A trio of officers lost their lives and more than a dozen others sustained injuries in a seemingly deliberate blast caused by gas at a country home in northern Italy.

Sequence of Events

The detonation took place as officers and emergency crews entered the residence in the vicinity of Verona to enforce an court-ordered eviction for two brothers and a sister in their late 50s and mid-60s.

All three deceased individuals served in the Carabinieri military police.

Arrests and Aftermath

A man and a woman were arrested at the location and one more individual who fled after the blast was apprehended not long after. All three have been admitted to hospital.

The blast could be noticed approximately 5 kilometers away and photographs from the scene revealed the building reduced to a mass of wreckage.

“This is a time for grieving,” commented the Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who mentioned that attempts had been made to remove the brother and sister trio in the earlier times.

Background and Motive

The president of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, explained the property was under an removal notice due to financial obligations incurred by the property owners.

Negotiators had been assigned to talk with the brothers and sister who had locked themselves into the home. When the Carabinieri arrived just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials suspect one of the residents caused the blast.

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

A propane tank had been set off, and the explosion precisely impacted our members,” he added.

Petrol bombs were also located at the property, the minister said.

Injuries and Destruction

Injured individuals by the explosion included 11 other members of the Carabinieri as well as a trio of personnel of national police and a emergency responder.

Based on information from the local prosecutor, the farmhouse was in a derelict state and had lacked electrical service.

The official believed the explosion had occurred on a level above the access point and told the press it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Moments before the explosion, he revealed members had “noticed a hissing sound, presumably the gas cylinders being activated”.

Community Reaction

“All of us understood the scenario was critical,” neighbors told Italian media, mentioning that the family members had earlier warned to “cause an explosion” rather than vacate the property.

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

Minister of Defence Minister Crosetto stood alongside other government officials in commemorating the three officers who had lost their lives in the line of duty.