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A trio of officers perished and more than a dozen others got wounded in an apparently premeditated gas explosion at a rural property in the northern part of Italy.

Sequence of Events

The blast took place as police and firefighters approached the property near the city of Verona to execute an removal notice for two brothers and a sister who were older adults.

The three deceased individuals belonged to the Carabinieri military police.

Arrests and Aftermath

Two individuals were taken into custody at the site and one more individual who ran away after the blast was located soon after. All three have been transported to the hospital.

The explosion could be heard some 5km (3 miles) away and photographs from the location showed the structure turned into a heap of debris.

“We are in a period of mourning,” said the Minister of the Interior the Interior Minister, who noted that attempts had been made to evict the brother and sister trio in the earlier times.

Property Situation

The leader of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, said the residence was facing an removal notice due to unpaid amounts accrued by the property owners.

Mediators had been sent to speak to the brothers and sister who had locked themselves into the home. When the police came just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities believe a family member caused the explosion.

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

A gas canister had been set off, and the blast precisely impacted our members,” he said.

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

Casualties and Damage

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

Based on information from the local prosecutor, the property was in a poor condition and had lacked electrical service.

He thought the blast had occurred on a level above the access point and told reporters it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Shortly before the incident, he said members had “detected a whistling noise, likely the gas canisters being turned on”.

Local Response

“All of us understood the scenario was critical,” neighbors informed Italian media, noting that the trio had in the past stated to “detonate the property” rather than leave the house.

“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 men who had lost their lives in the performance of their duties.