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Three police officers perished and more than a dozen additional individuals sustained injuries in an apparently deliberate detonation from gas at a country home in Italy's north.

How It Happened

The explosion occurred as officers and emergency crews approached the residence near Verona to carry out an court-ordered eviction for two brothers and a sister in their late 50s and mid-60s.

All three victims who died belonged to the Carabinieri military police.

Legal Proceedings

A man and a woman got detained at the location and a third person who ran away following the blast was found soon after. Each of them have been taken to hospital.

The blast could be noticed some 5km (3 miles) away and images from the area revealed the building left as a pile of rubble.

“This is a time for grieving,” said the Minister of the Interior Minister Piantedosi, who mentioned that efforts had been made to displace the brother and sister trio in the past.

Financial Context

The president of the region of Veneto, Luca Zaia, said the residence was under an court order due to debts accrued by the siblings.

Negotiators had been sent to engage the brothers and sister who had locked themselves into the property. When the police reached the location soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials think a family member triggered the blast.

“Upon entering the house, we were confronted with an act of absolute madness,” local police chief Claudio Papagno stated to reporters.

“A gas cylinder had been activated, and the explosion directly hit our members,” he said.

Petrol bombs were also discovered at the residence, the interior minister stated.

Casualties and Damage

The wounded by the blast comprised 11 other members of the police force as well as a trio of personnel of Italy's state police and a firefighter.

As stated by the prosecuting attorney, the farmhouse was in a derelict state and had was without power.

He was convinced the blast had happened on a floor above the entrance and told the press it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Shortly before the blast, he said personnel had “heard a whistle, likely the propane tanks being turned on”.

Local Response

“We all knew the situation was dire,” neighbors informed reporters, mentioning that the family members had earlier warned to “blow themselves up” rather than be evicted.

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

The Defense Minister Minister Crosetto stood alongside other government officials in honoring the three men who had died in the service of their country.