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Three police officers were killed and no fewer than 15 people were hurt in an apparently deliberate gas explosion at a farmhouse in Italy's north.

Event Timeline

The detonation occurred as law enforcement and fire personnel approached the residence close to Verona to execute an removal notice for a brother and sister trio in their late 50s and mid-60s.

Each of the three officers killed belonged to the Carabinieri force.

Investigation Developments

Two individuals were taken into custody at the scene and a third person who fled after the blast was found shortly later. The trio have been transported to hospital.

The blast could be noticed some 5km (3 miles) away and photographs from the scene displayed the property reduced to a pile of rubble.

“This is a time for grieving,” stated the Interior Minister Minister Piantedosi, who added that attempts had been made to evict the three siblings in the previous occasions.

Property Situation

The head of the Veneto area, President Zaia, said the farmhouse was facing an removal notice due to unpaid amounts incurred by the siblings.

Negotiators had been sent to engage the family members who had secured themselves into the home. When the officers reached the location just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators believe one of the residents set off the detonation.

“As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” local police chief the police commander informed the media.

A propane tank had been activated, and the detonation directly hit our officers,” he explained.

Incendiary devices were also located at the property, the minister stated.

Injuries and Destruction

Those injured by the explosion comprised eleven more officers of the military police as well as three officers of Italy's state police and a firefighter.

As stated by the local prosecutor, the farmhouse was in a dilapidated shape and had lacked electrical service.

The prosecutor thought the blast had occurred on a floor above the entrance and informed the press it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Moments before the blast, he revealed personnel had “heard a whistle, likely the propane tanks being activated”.

Neighbor Statements

“All of us understood the scenario was critical,” nearby inhabitants informed local news, noting that the three had in the past stated to “cause an explosion” rather than leave the house.

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

The Defense Minister the Defence Minister stood alongside other government officials in paying tribute to the trio of personnel who had died in the line of duty.