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A trio of officers were killed and more than a dozen additional individuals got wounded in a seemingly deliberate gas explosion at a rural property in northern Italy.

Sequence of Events

The explosion occurred as law enforcement and fire personnel entered the residence in the vicinity of the city of Verona to enforce an removal notice for three siblings aged in their 50s and 60s.

The three victims who died served in the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

A man and a woman were arrested at the location and one more individual who escaped after the incident was located not long after. All three have been taken to hospital.

The detonation could be heard approximately 5 kilometers away and photographs from the location displayed the building left as a pile of rubble.

“We are in a period of mourning,” stated the Minister of the Interior the Interior Minister, who mentioned that attempts had been made to evict the three family members in the earlier times.

Property Situation

The leader of the region of Veneto, President Zaia, stated the farmhouse was under an eviction order due to financial obligations accrued by the siblings.

Mediators had been assigned to speak to the family members who had secured themselves into the home. When the police arrived soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities suspect a family member caused the explosion.

“Upon entering the house, we were confronted with an act of absolute madness,” provincial police commander the police commander stated to news outlets.

“A gas cylinder had been activated, and the detonation directly hit our members,” he added.

Petrol bombs were also discovered at the property, the Interior Minister confirmed.

Casualties and Damage

Those injured by the incident consisted of eleven more officers of the Carabinieri as well as three officers of Italy's state police and a firefighter.

As stated by the prosecuting attorney, the farmhouse was in a dilapidated shape and had lacked electrical service.

He believed the detonation had taken place on a story above the entrance and informed the press it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Moments before the blast, he said officers had “detected a whistling noise, presumably the gas canisters being activated”.

Community Reaction

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents told reporters, noting that the trio had in the past stated to “cause an explosion” rather than vacate the property.

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

Minister of Defence the Defence Minister stood alongside other political leaders in honoring the three men who had lost their lives in the service of their country.