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Three police officers lost their lives and no fewer than 15 others sustained injuries in what appears to be intentional gas explosion at a farmhouse in the northern part of Italy.

Sequence of Events

The explosion was triggered as law enforcement and fire personnel went into the residence in the vicinity of the city of Verona to carry out an court-ordered eviction for three siblings in their late 50s and mid-60s.

All three deceased individuals belonged to the Italian military police.

Legal Proceedings

A man and a woman got detained at the location and one more individual who fled after the explosion was found soon after. All three have been transported to the hospital.

The explosion could be noticed approximately 5 kilometers away and photographs from the location showed the property reduced to a heap of debris.

“This is a time for grieving,” said the Minister of the Interior the Interior Minister, who mentioned that efforts had been made to remove the three family members in the earlier times.

Property Situation

The leader of the region of Veneto, President Zaia, said the property was subject to an eviction order due to unpaid amounts incurred by the three owners.

Mediators had been assigned to engage the siblings who had secured themselves into the house. When the officers reached the location just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials believe one of the residents caused the detonation.

“As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” local police chief Commander Papagno told the media.

“A gas cylinder had been set off, and the detonation directly hit our personnel,” he added.

Molotov cocktails were also found at the residence, the Interior Minister said.

Injuries and Destruction

The wounded by the incident included 11 other members of the police force as well as three officers of national police and a emergency responder.

Based on information from the prosecuting attorney, the building was in a derelict state and had lacked electrical service.

The prosecutor was convinced the detonation had happened on a level above the access point and told journalists it was a “intentional and planned killing”. Moments before the explosion, he mentioned members had “detected a whistling noise, presumably the gas cylinders being turned on”.

Neighbor Statements

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents informed reporters, noting that the three had previously threatened to “detonate the property” rather than be evicted.

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

The Defense Minister the Defence Minister united with other government officials in honoring the three men who had been killed in the line of duty.