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Three police officers perished and no fewer than 15 others were hurt in an apparently deliberate detonation from gas at a country home in the northern part of Italy.

How It Happened

The blast took place as law enforcement and fire personnel approached the residence in the vicinity of the Verona region to carry out an eviction order for three siblings aged in their 50s and 60s.

All three victims who died were members of the Italian military police.

Investigation Developments

Two individuals were arrested at the location and a third person who fled after the incident was found soon after. The trio have been transported to medical facility.

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

“This moment calls for sorrow,” commented the Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who added that efforts had been made to displace the brother and sister trio in the previous occasions.

Property Situation

The head of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, explained the farmhouse was subject to an eviction order due to debts incurred by the siblings.

Negotiators had been assigned to speak to the siblings who had barricaded themselves into the property. When the Carabinieri arrived just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities think a family member caused the explosion.

“Upon entering the house, we were confronted with an act of absolute madness,” regional commander Claudio Papagno told the media.

A gas canister had been activated, and the blast directly hit our officers,” he added.

Molotov cocktails were also located at the residence, the minister confirmed.

Injuries and Destruction

Injured individuals by the blast consisted of eleven more officers of the police force as well as three officers of the state police and a firefighter.

According to the Verona prosecutor, the property was in a dilapidated shape and had was without power.

The prosecutor thought the blast had happened on a floor above the entrance and stated to reporters it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Moments before the incident, he said members had “heard a whistle, presumably the gas canisters being activated”.

Neighbor Statements

“All of us understood the scenario was critical,” neighbors told Italian media, mentioning that the three had previously threatened to “cause an explosion” rather than be evicted.

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

Defence Minister Minister Crosetto stood alongside other political leaders in commemorating the trio of personnel who had been killed in the performance of their duties.