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A trio of officers lost their lives and more than a dozen others were hurt in an apparently intentional blast caused by gas at a farmhouse in Italy's north.

Sequence of Events

The explosion took place as law enforcement and fire personnel approached the residence close to the Verona region to carry out an eviction order for three siblings who were older adults.

Each of the three officers killed belonged to the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

Two individuals were taken into custody at the scene and a third person who fled subsequent to the blast was apprehended shortly later. All three have been admitted to medical facility.

The blast could be audible approximately 5 kilometers away and footage from the location showed the structure reduced to a heap of debris.

“This is a time for grieving,” stated Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who added that previous tries had been made to displace the three siblings in the earlier times.

Property Situation

The leader of the region of Veneto, Luca Zaia, explained the property was subject to an eviction order due to financial obligations incurred by the siblings.

Negotiators had been assigned to engage the family members who had secured themselves into the property. When the police reached the location soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials think one of the residents triggered the explosion.

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

A propane tank had been ignited, and the detonation directly hit our members,” he added.

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

Casualties and Damage

Injured individuals by the incident consisted of an additional 11 personnel of the police force as well as three officers of national police and a emergency responder.

Based on information from the prosecuting attorney, the property was in a derelict state and had was without power.

The official thought the explosion had taken place on a floor above the entrance and told reporters it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Moments before the incident, he said personnel had “noticed a hissing sound, likely the propane tanks being turned on”.

Local Response

“All of us understood the scenario was critical,” local residents told reporters, mentioning that the three had earlier warned to “detonate the property” rather than vacate the property.

“The blast resulted in a ‘horrific, deeply distressing and tragic cost’.”

Minister of Defence Minister Crosetto stood alongside other political leaders in honoring the three men who had lost their lives in the line of duty.