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Three police officers lost their lives and no fewer than 15 people got wounded in what appears to be premeditated gas explosion at a country home in the northern part of Italy.

Sequence of Events

The explosion occurred as law enforcement and fire personnel entered the property close to the Verona region to carry out an court-ordered eviction for two brothers and a sister who were older adults.

Each of the three victims who died belonged to the Carabinieri force.

Investigation Developments

Two individuals got detained at the scene and one more individual who ran away subsequent to the explosion was found soon after. Each of them have been admitted to hospital.

The detonation could be heard as far as 3 miles distant and photographs from the area revealed the building reduced to a mass of wreckage.

“We are in a period of mourning,” commented the Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who noted that efforts had been made to evict the three family members in the previous occasions.

Background and Motive

The head of the Veneto area, Luca Zaia, stated the residence was under an court order due to financial obligations accrued by the siblings.

Conflict resolution experts had been sent to engage the siblings who had locked themselves into the property. When the Carabinieri arrived shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities think one of the siblings set off the blast.

“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” provincial police commander Commander Papagno informed reporters.

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

Petrol bombs were also found at the residence, the Interior Minister said.

Injuries and Destruction

Injured individuals by the incident comprised eleven more officers of the police force as well as three officers of Italy's state police and a firefighter.

According to the Verona prosecutor, the building was in a derelict state and had was without power.

The prosecutor believed the explosion had occurred on a floor above the doorway and told journalists it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Shortly before the incident, he said members had “noticed a hissing sound, probably the propane tanks being activated”.

Local Response

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents told reporters, noting that the trio had previously threatened to “blow themselves up” rather than be evicted.

“The incident exacted a ‘dreadful, extremely sad and dramatic price’.”

Minister of Defence the Defence Minister stood alongside other government officials in paying tribute to the three officers who had died in the line of duty.