**Officials in Morehead City in the US state of North Carolina have shut a major port after containers carrying explosive material were punctured.**Police have told people to evacuate the area. Some are said to be leaving.
Morehead City Police Chief Wes Lail said the chemical involved was pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) - a powerful explosive.
The Morehead port - one of the deepest on the US East coast - is a major entry point for commodities.
The cause of Tuesday’s incident was not immediately clear.
A police spokesman told Reuters news agency: “As a precaution, they have evacuated the port area… everything indicates this was by accident.”