By Jennifer Dobner
SALT LAKE CITY, June 16 (Reuters) - Three children were injured at a parade in Utah when a spark from a cannon being used by a Civil War re-enactment group caused a bag of black gunpowder to explode, police said on Monday.
The group fired a cannon to signal the start of the annual Summerfest parade, which began on Saturday night in Orem, about 40 miles (64 km) south of Salt Lake City.
Police believe a spark from the cannon landed in a gunpowder pouch being carried by a young boy in the re-enactment group, igniting the explosion, said Lieutenant Guy Gustman of the Orem Police Department.
Two children standing nearby were also injured. Two of those hurt were aged 10 and one was 8, he said. Further details about the children were not released for privacy reasons.
All three were taken to the University of Utah Hospital Burn Center in Salt Lake City. On Monday, hospital officials said one child had been treated and released. The conditions of the other two were not immediately clear.
Gustman said the Civil War re-enactment group had taken part in the Summerfest parade for several years and previously fired the cannon during the event without incident.
(Reporting by Jennifer Dobner; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Peter Cooney)
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