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A trio of officers perished and no fewer than 15 others got wounded in an apparently deliberate blast caused by gas at a country home in northern Italy.

Event Timeline

The blast took place as law enforcement and fire personnel entered the house near the Verona region to execute an removal notice for two brothers and a sister in their late 50s and mid-60s.

Each of the three officers killed were members of the Italian military police.

Investigation Developments

Two individuals were arrested at the site and one more individual who fled following the explosion was located soon after. Each of them have been transported to the hospital.

The detonation could be noticed as far as 3 miles distant and footage from the location displayed the building reduced to a pile of rubble.

“This moment calls for sorrow,” commented the Minister of the Interior Minister Piantedosi, who noted that efforts had been made to evict the brother and sister trio in the earlier times.

Background and Motive

The president of the Veneto area, President Zaia, stated the farmhouse was facing an removal notice due to debts accumulated by the siblings.

Negotiators had been assigned to talk with the siblings who had locked themselves into the property. When the Carabinieri reached the location shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities suspect one of the siblings triggered the detonation.

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

“A gas cylinder had been set off, and the blast immediately struck our officers,” he explained.

Incendiary devices were also discovered at the property, the minister said.

Impact Assessment

Injured individuals by the incident included 11 other members of the Carabinieri as well as three members of Italy's state police and a firefighter.

Based on information from the local prosecutor, the farmhouse was in a dilapidated shape and had no electricity.

The official thought the detonation had taken place on a story above the entrance and informed the press it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Just prior to the blast, he said members had “detected a whistling noise, probably the gas cylinders being activated”.

Neighbor Statements

“We all knew the situation was dire,” nearby inhabitants stated to local news, adding that the three had in the past stated to “cause an explosion” rather than leave the house.

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

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto joined other elected representatives in honoring the three men who had died in the line of duty.