At least 10 people are wounded after a street shooting outside a nightclub in eastern Pennsylvania.

Police say that the Thursday morning shooting occurred just as most of the victims were leaving the Allentown club, and were standing outside on the sidewalk.

The shooting has sparked a manhunt, with witnesses saying that several people fled the scene in a panic, and at least one car was seen speeding away.

Ambulance "drivers didn't know where to start, people were everywhere ... People were screaming, 'that b**** started shooting,'" one woman who lives near the night club and asked not to be named for fear of reprisal told the Allentown Morning Call.

Another witness, Tashana Santiago, told the paper that she woke up to gunshots, and then saw people running across the street to a shopping centre. She said that the last few gunshots were followed by the sound of a car speeding away.

"When everything went silent all you could hear is the screaming and the panicking," she told the paper. "All I could think was someone is dying."

Officials say that all of those who were wounded in the shooting were being treated in an area hospital.

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Allentown Police captain Bill Lake told The Independent that the shooting occurred just before 2am, and that "no one is in custody" as of later Thursday morning.

"Many of the victims remain hospitalised at this time," Mr Lake said, noting that they are all expected to recover.