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Three police officers lost their lives and more than a dozen people got wounded in an apparently premeditated detonation from gas at a country home in northern Italy.

Event Timeline

The explosion occurred as law enforcement and fire personnel went into the property close to the city of Verona to execute an eviction order for a brother and sister trio who were older adults.

The three deceased individuals served in the Carabinieri force.

Investigation Developments

Two individuals were taken into custody at the site and a third person who ran away subsequent to the explosion was found soon after. All three have been admitted to hospital.

The blast could be audible some 5km (3 miles) away and images from the scene revealed the structure reduced to a heap of debris.

“We are in a period of mourning,” said Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who mentioned that previous tries had been made to remove the three siblings in the earlier times.

Background and Motive

The head of the Veneto area, the regional head, stated the farmhouse was under an eviction order due to financial obligations accrued by the three owners.

Negotiators had been assigned to engage the brothers and sister who had locked themselves into the house. When the Carabinieri reached the location just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials believe one of the siblings set off the explosion.

“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” provincial police commander the police commander stated to news outlets.

A gas canister had been activated, and the explosion directly hit our officers,” he said.

Petrol bombs were also discovered at the property, the minister confirmed.

Casualties and Damage

Those injured by the explosion included an additional 11 personnel of the military police as well as three officers of Italy's state police and a firefighter.

As stated by the prosecuting attorney, the property was in a poor condition and had was without power.

The official thought the explosion had occurred on a story above the entrance and informed reporters it was a “intentional and planned killing”. Just prior to the incident, he said officers had “detected a whistling noise, presumably the gas cylinders being activated”.

Neighbor Statements

“All of us understood the scenario was critical,” nearby inhabitants told reporters, adding that the three had in the past stated to “blow themselves up” rather than be evicted.

“The explosion had left a ‘terrible, very painful and dramatic toll’.”

Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto joined other government officials in commemorating the three men who had lost their lives in the performance of their duties.