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Three police officers perished and more than a dozen people were hurt in a seemingly premeditated detonation from gas at a farmhouse in Italy's north.

Sequence of Events

The explosion was triggered as officers and emergency crews went into the residence in the vicinity of the Verona region to execute an removal notice for three siblings aged in their 50s and 60s.

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

Legal Proceedings

A man and a woman got detained at the site and one more individual who fled following the incident was apprehended not long after. All three have been taken to medical facility.

The explosion could be noticed approximately 5 kilometers away and images from the scene showed the structure reduced to a mass of wreckage.

“This moment calls for sorrow,” stated Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who noted that efforts had been made to evict the three siblings in the previous occasions.

Property Situation

The leader of the Veneto area, the regional head, explained the property was under an removal notice due to debts incurred by the siblings.

Negotiators had been dispatched to talk with the siblings who had locked themselves into the house. When the police reached the location shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators think a family member caused the detonation.

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

A propane tank had been activated, and the detonation directly hit our officers,” he explained.

Petrol bombs were also found at the property, the interior minister stated.

Casualties and Damage

The wounded by the blast consisted of eleven more officers of the Carabinieri as well as three officers of national police and a firefighter.

According to the local prosecutor, the property was in a dilapidated shape and had lacked electrical service.

The prosecutor believed the explosion had taken place on a level above the doorway and informed the press it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Moments before the explosion, he said members had “detected a whistling noise, likely the gas canisters being turned on”.

Community Reaction

“Everyone was aware the circumstances were severe,” local residents stated to reporters, adding that the trio had earlier warned to “detonate the property” rather than vacate the property.

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

The Defense Minister Minister Crosetto stood alongside other elected representatives in honoring the three officers who had died in the performance of their duties.