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Three members of law enforcement lost their lives and more than a dozen people got wounded in what appears to be deliberate detonation from gas at a farmhouse in Italy's north.

How It Happened

The blast occurred as officers and emergency crews approached the property near the Verona region to enforce an removal notice for three siblings aged in their 50s and 60s.

The three victims who died belonged to the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

Two individuals were arrested at the site and one more individual who escaped after the blast was located soon after. Each of them have been transported to hospital.

The blast could be audible some 5km (3 miles) away and photographs from the area showed the property left as a mass of wreckage.

“This is a time for grieving,” said Interior Minister Minister Piantedosi, who mentioned that previous tries had been made to evict the brother and sister trio in the past.

Background and Motive

The head of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, explained the residence was facing an court order due to financial obligations accrued by the three owners.

Negotiators had been dispatched to talk with the siblings who had secured themselves into the property. When the officers reached the location soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities suspect a family member set off the blast.

“As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” regional commander Claudio Papagno stated to reporters.

“A gas cylinder had been ignited, and the explosion precisely impacted our officers,” he explained.

Incendiary devices were also found at the property, the minister confirmed.

Casualties and Damage

Injured individuals by the explosion included eleven more officers of the police force as well as three officers of Italy's state police and a emergency responder.

Based on information from the prosecuting attorney, the property was in a derelict state and had was without power.

The official believed the detonation had happened on a story above the entrance and told journalists it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Shortly before the explosion, he mentioned personnel had “noticed a hissing sound, probably the gas canisters being activated”.

Neighbor Statements

“All of us understood the scenario was critical,” neighbors told Italian media, adding that the trio had earlier warned to “blow themselves up” rather than be evicted.

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

The Defense Minister Guido Crosetto stood alongside other government officials in commemorating the three men who had died in the line of duty.