ITALY – 3 officers from the national gendarmerie, the Carabinieri were killed and 15 others injured in a farmhouse explosion in Verona city, Italy during an eviction on Tuesday.

The house was filled with gas, and the explosion was triggered when the front door was opened during an eviction that had been planned for days, following several failed attempts to remove three siblings from the property after they threatened to blow themselves up.

Three siblings in their 60s, who were involved in two similar incidents a year ago, are believed to be responsible for the explosion.

Two have been arrested, while one remains at large.

In a statement, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni expressed her condolences saying that “my profound condolences and those of the government go to the families of the victims, along with emotional closeness to the Arma, which I expressed in a phone call to the commanding general, General Salvatore Luongo.”

She also wished “for a speedy recovery to the injured members of the Police Forces and the Fire Brigade, and to thank the medical personnel and all those who intervened promptly and professionally.”

She added that she was “following the developments of this dramatic event with participation and sorrow, one which reminds us once again of the value and daily sacrifice of those who serve the State and its citizens”.