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Three members of law enforcement lost their lives and at least 15 others sustained injuries in what appears to be deliberate gas explosion at a farmhouse in northern Italy.

Event Timeline

The explosion was triggered as law enforcement and fire personnel approached the house in the vicinity of Verona to carry out an eviction order for two brothers and a sister who were older adults.

The three officers killed belonged to the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

A man and a woman were arrested at the site and another man who fled after the incident was apprehended shortly later. All three have been admitted to hospital.

The detonation could be heard some 5km (3 miles) away and images from the scene displayed the building left as a heap of debris.

“This is a time for grieving,” said Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who noted that previous tries had been made to displace the three family members in the past.

Financial Context

The president of the Veneto region, the regional head, stated the property was subject to an court order due to unpaid amounts incurred by the property owners.

Conflict resolution experts had been dispatched to speak to the family members who had barricaded themselves into the home. When the officers arrived just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities think one of the siblings triggered the blast.

“As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” regional commander Commander Papagno informed news outlets.

“A gas cylinder had been set off, and the explosion precisely impacted our personnel,” he added.

Incendiary devices were also located at the property, the interior minister confirmed.

Casualties and Damage

The wounded by the incident comprised an additional 11 personnel of the military police as well as three members of Italy's state police and a fire services member.

As stated by the local prosecutor, the building was in a poor condition and had was without power.

The official believed the explosion had taken place on a story above the access point and told reporters it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Shortly before the incident, he revealed officers had “heard a whistle, probably the gas canisters being turned on”.

Local Response

“We all knew the situation was dire,” nearby inhabitants informed local news, adding that the family members had earlier warned to “blow themselves up” rather than vacate the property.

“The incident exacted a ‘dreadful, extremely sad and dramatic price’.”

Defence Minister the Defence Minister joined other political leaders in honoring the three men who had been killed in the line of duty.