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Three members of law enforcement lost their lives and more than a dozen people got wounded in an apparently intentional gas explosion at a country home in the northern part of Italy.

How It Happened

The explosion was triggered as officers and emergency crews entered the house close to the city of Verona to enforce an eviction order for a brother and sister trio aged in their 50s and 60s.

The three deceased individuals were members of the Italian military police.

Investigation Developments

One male and one female got detained at the scene and one more individual who ran away subsequent to the blast was found shortly later. The trio have been taken to hospital.

The blast could be heard as far as 3 miles distant and photographs from the location showed the building turned into a pile of rubble.

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

Property Situation

The leader of the region of Veneto, the regional head, stated the residence was under an court order due to debts accumulated by the three owners.

Negotiators had been assigned to speak to the brothers and sister who had secured themselves into the home. When the police came just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators suspect one of the residents caused the blast.

“Upon entering the house, we were confronted with an act of absolute madness,” local police chief Commander Papagno informed reporters.

“A gas cylinder had been activated, and the explosion immediately struck our officers,” he added.

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

Injuries and Destruction

The wounded by the explosion included an additional 11 personnel of the police force as well as a trio of personnel of the state police and a firefighter.

As stated by the Verona prosecutor, the property was in a derelict state and had lacked electrical service.

He was convinced the detonation had taken place on a floor above the doorway and told reporters it was a “intentional and planned killing”. Just prior to the incident, he mentioned officers had “noticed a hissing sound, probably the gas cylinders being turned on”.

Local Response

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents stated to Italian media, mentioning that the family members had in the past stated to “detonate the property” rather than vacate the property.

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

Minister of Defence Minister Crosetto stood alongside other elected representatives in paying tribute to the trio of personnel who had died in the performance of their duties.