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Three police officers lost their lives and more than a dozen others sustained injuries in an apparently premeditated gas explosion at a farmhouse in the northern part of Italy.

Event Timeline

The explosion occurred as officers and emergency crews went into the residence near the city of Verona to execute an eviction order for two brothers and a sister aged in their 50s and 60s.

All three officers killed served in the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

A man and a woman were arrested at the scene and a third person who ran away subsequent to the incident was apprehended shortly later. The trio have been admitted to medical facility.

The explosion could be audible some 5km (3 miles) away and images from the location revealed the building reduced to a mass of wreckage.

“This is a time for grieving,” commented the Interior Minister Minister Piantedosi, who mentioned that efforts had been made to remove the three siblings in the past.

Financial Context

The leader of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, stated the farmhouse was subject to an eviction order due to unpaid amounts incurred by the three owners.

Negotiators had been sent to talk with the family members who had secured themselves into the property. When the officers arrived just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials think one of the residents triggered the blast.

“As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” provincial police commander Commander Papagno informed news outlets.

A gas canister had been ignited, and the blast immediately struck our officers,” he explained.

Incendiary devices were also discovered at the site, the Interior Minister said.

Injuries and Destruction

Injured individuals by the incident included an additional 11 personnel of the military police as well as a trio of personnel of Italy's state police and a firefighter.

According to the prosecuting attorney, the farmhouse was in a dilapidated shape and had no electricity.

The official was convinced the detonation had occurred on a level above the doorway and stated to journalists it was a “intentional and planned killing”. Just prior to the explosion, he mentioned personnel had “detected a whistling noise, presumably the gas cylinders being opened”.

Community Reaction

“All of us understood the scenario was critical,” neighbors informed Italian media, mentioning 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’.”

Defence Minister the Defence Minister joined other political leaders in paying tribute to the three officers who had been killed in the service of their country.