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A trio of officers lost their lives and no fewer than 15 others got wounded in a seemingly deliberate detonation from gas at a farmhouse in the northern part of Italy.

Event Timeline

The blast occurred as police and firefighters approached the residence in the vicinity of the city of Verona to enforce an removal notice for two brothers and a sister aged in their 50s and 60s.

All three deceased individuals belonged to the Carabinieri force.

Investigation Developments

One male and one female were taken into custody at the scene and another man who escaped subsequent to the blast was located not long after. All three have been taken to the hospital.

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

“This is a time for grieving,” said the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, who noted that attempts had been made to displace the brother and sister trio in the previous occasions.

Background and Motive

The leader of the Veneto area, the regional head, said the property was facing an eviction order due to unpaid amounts accumulated by the property owners.

Negotiators had been dispatched to talk with the family members who had barricaded themselves into the home. When the police arrived just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities think one of the siblings caused the explosion.

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

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

Incendiary devices were also found at the residence, the minister confirmed.

Casualties and Damage

Injured individuals by the explosion included an additional 11 personnel of the police force as well as three members of Italy's state police and a fire services member.

Based on information from the local prosecutor, the building was in a poor condition and had was without power.

He thought the detonation had taken place on a level above the access point and stated to journalists it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Just prior to the incident, he mentioned members had “noticed a hissing sound, probably the gas canisters being activated”.

Local Response

“All of us understood the scenario was critical,” local residents told Italian media, adding that the trio had in the past stated to “blow themselves up” rather than leave the house.

“The explosion had left a ‘terrible, very painful and dramatic toll’.”

Minister of Defence the Defence Minister joined other political leaders in commemorating the three officers who had lost their lives in the line of duty.