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Three police officers perished and more than a dozen others got wounded in what appears to be intentional gas explosion at a rural property in northern Italy.

How It Happened

The blast was triggered as police and firefighters entered the residence in the vicinity of the Verona region to carry out an removal notice for three siblings who were older adults.

All three officers killed were members of the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

Two individuals got detained at the location and a third person who escaped after the blast was apprehended not long after. The trio have been admitted to hospital.

The detonation could be heard as far as 3 miles distant and footage from the area showed the building left as a pile of rubble.

“This is a time for grieving,” stated the Minister of the Interior the Interior Minister, who mentioned that attempts had been made to evict the brother and sister trio in the earlier times.

Property Situation

The leader of the Veneto region, the regional head, said the residence was under an removal notice due to unpaid amounts incurred by the three owners.

Conflict resolution experts had been sent to engage the brothers and sister who had secured themselves into the property. When the Carabinieri came soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities think one of the residents triggered the blast.

“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” local police chief Commander Papagno told news outlets.

A gas canister had been set off, and the explosion immediately struck our members,” he added.

Incendiary devices were also found at the residence, the interior minister stated.

Casualties and Damage

The wounded by the explosion comprised eleven more officers of the police force as well as three officers of Italy's state police and a firefighter.

According to the local prosecutor, the building was in a derelict state and had lacked electrical service.

He was convinced the detonation had happened on a level above the doorway and informed reporters it was a “intentional and planned killing”. Moments before the blast, he said officers had “detected a whistling noise, probably the gas canisters being activated”.

Local Response

“All of us understood the scenario was critical,” nearby inhabitants told reporters, adding that the family members had in the past stated to “cause an explosion” rather than be evicted.

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

Minister of Defence the Defence Minister united with other elected representatives in commemorating the three men who had been killed in the service of their country.