House explosion in Italy kills 3 police officers near Verona who tried to serve eviction notice

Rome — Three Italian police officers were killed Tuesday morning and more than a dozen others injured when an explosion ripped through a farm near the northern city of Verona as officers tried to carry out an eviction order, officials said.

The explosion leveled the two-story house in the town of Castel d’Azzano, about six miles southwest of Verona. Authorities say the fire was started deliberately by residents who refused to leave the property.

The police officers “were hit by the intentional explosion of a gasoline tank,” said Colonel Claudio Pagano, commander of the Verona Carabinieri police. “It was an absolutely senseless act.”

The farm exploded shortly after dawn when a team of riflemen and other law enforcement officers entered the property, which had been illegally occupied for more than a year. According to Italian public broadcaster RAI and Sky TG24, investigators believe the building was deliberately filled with gas, which ignited when police opened the front door.

Firefighters said the explosion could be heard several kilometers away and caused the structure to collapse almost instantly. Rescue teams pulled some victims out of the rubble as flames ravaged the site.

Thirteen police officers and a civilian were hospitalized for injuries, but none were in danger of death, according to Rai.

Authorities arrested a brother and sister in their 60s, identified by local media as Dino and Maria Luisa Ramponi, who were living illegally in the house. A third brother initially fled the scene but was later taken into custody, according to Sky TG24.

Prosecutors say the siblings had resisted previous eviction attempts, including last year, when they allegedly threatened to blow up the property if police entered. Investigators found several gas canisters inside the home and are treating the case as a suspected premeditated murder.

“This act seems to have been planned in advance,” said Verona prosecutor Raffaele Tito. “When the police opened the door, the house exploded.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the deaths “a tragedy that hits the entire nation” and expressed her condolences to the victims’ families.

Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called it a “barbaric act against those who serve the state with courage.”

The Verona public prosecutor’s office has opened a criminal investigation.