Three police officers perished and at least 15 additional individuals got wounded in a seemingly intentional gas explosion at a farmhouse in northern Italy.
The blast took place as law enforcement and fire personnel went into the house close to the Verona region to enforce an court-ordered eviction for three siblings who were older adults.
The three victims who died were members of the Italian military police.
Two individuals got detained at the site and one more individual who fled following the explosion was found shortly later. Each of them have been taken to hospital.
The detonation could be audible approximately 5 kilometers away and photographs from the location revealed the building turned into a pile of rubble.
“This moment calls for sorrow,” stated the Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who noted that attempts had been made to remove the three family members in the earlier times.
The leader of the region of Veneto, Luca Zaia, explained the property was subject to an removal notice due to financial obligations incurred by the property owners.
Negotiators had been sent to speak to the family members who had barricaded themselves into the home. When the officers came shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities believe one of the siblings triggered the explosion.
“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” local police chief the police commander told reporters.
A propane tank had been activated, and the blast directly hit our personnel,” he said.
Molotov cocktails were also located at the property, the minister confirmed.
The wounded by the explosion included 11 other members of the Carabinieri as well as three officers of Italy's state police and a fire services member.
As stated by the local prosecutor, the building was in a dilapidated shape and had no electricity.
The prosecutor believed the detonation had occurred on a level above the entrance and told the press it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Moments before the incident, he said personnel had “detected a whistling noise, likely the gas cylinders being turned on”.
“Everyone was aware the circumstances were severe,” neighbors stated to Italian media, adding that the trio had earlier warned to “blow themselves up” rather than vacate the property.
“The explosion had left a ‘terrible, very painful and dramatic toll’.”
The Defense Minister the Defence Minister joined other political leaders in commemorating the three officers who had been killed in the line of duty.
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