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Three police officers were killed and at least 15 others were hurt in what appears to be premeditated gas explosion at a farmhouse in Italy's north.

Sequence of Events

The explosion was triggered as officers and emergency crews went into the house close to the Verona region to execute an eviction order for two brothers and a sister aged in their 50s and 60s.

All three victims who died were members of the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

A man and a woman got detained at the scene and another man who fled following the explosion was located shortly later. The trio have been admitted to hospital.

The blast could be heard approximately 5 kilometers away and photographs from the scene showed the structure left as a pile of rubble.

“We are in a period of mourning,” commented the Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who added that previous tries had been made to displace the brother and sister trio in the previous occasions.

Financial Context

The president of the region of Veneto, the regional head, explained the property was under an eviction order due to unpaid amounts accrued by the property owners.

Negotiators had been sent to speak to the brothers and sister who had locked themselves into the home. When the police came just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators suspect a family member caused the blast.

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

A propane tank had been activated, and the blast directly hit our personnel,” he said.

Incendiary devices were also discovered at the property, the interior minister said.

Injuries and Destruction

The wounded by the incident comprised 11 other members of the police force as well as three officers of Italy's state police and a emergency responder.

According to the Verona prosecutor, the building was in a dilapidated shape and had no electricity.

The official believed the explosion had occurred on a story above the entrance and stated to the press it was a “intentional and planned killing”. Moments before the blast, he said personnel had “heard a whistle, presumably the gas cylinders being turned on”.

Community Reaction

“We all knew the situation was dire,” nearby inhabitants informed reporters, noting that the trio had earlier warned to “blow themselves up” rather than vacate the property.

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

The Defense Minister Guido Crosetto stood alongside other government officials in paying tribute to the three men who had lost their lives in the service of their country.