Londoners have been left terrified after a set inferno raged out of control just yards from London's O2 Arena - with thick smoke and explosions spreading panic across the local community.

The fire brigade was called in to bring the blaze under control after the 'pre-planned' stunt went wrong - as residents complained that it was like a 'bomb' or even an 'earthquake'.

Videos from the scene show flames and huge black clouds swirling above the iconic London venue - with onlookers saying there were five explosions.

London Fire Brigade responded to a fire - involving half of a car and a lorry - after they were called at 7.51 pm.

Images from the scene appear to show the vehicles were a burnt-out BBC World News lorry and a police van.

Boat engineers working on the River Thames when the explosion happened said it sounded like a 'massive bomb going off'.

Michael Weston, 56, told Mail Online: 'It was incredibly loud. I thought it was going to burst my eardrums.


'Apparently, a load of gas canisters exploded. I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

'It sounded like a bomb going off.'

Four fire engines and 25 firefighters rushed to tackle the blaze at an open-air yard on Dock Road in Silvertown - and could not confirm whether or not it was a film crew.

They have since confirmed that it is under control - with no reports of any injuries.

The brigade said: 'The fire in Silvertown followed a controlled explosion at a film set which spread out of control.

'Firefighters worked quickly to extinguish the fire, which is now under control. Crews will remain on scene for the remainder of the evening.'

Onlookers said the lorry which caught on fire in central London near the city's O2 Arena was '100% a BBC World News' truck which 'exploded five times'.

An onlooker, 42, said he hoped it was a controlled intentional fire, which was part of filming near East India Dock in London at around 8 pm tonight.

The man, who works in set design, said filming often happens in the area for series like Married at First Sight.

But he said he noticed the BBC truck before it caught fire because it was less common for the channel to film in the area.

He said he was certain the vehicle which caught fire and exploded was a 'red mobile editing' vehicle which said 'BBC World News' on the side.

He said: 'It was a BBC camera truck where they do the editing - the mobile trucks that follow the teams around.

'They were doing filming here. We saw them. The BBC doesn't do filming here usually, so I noticed it. I saw 'BBC World News' on the side of it and it was red.

'I'm 100% sure. At first, I wasn't sure if it was an accident or part of something they were filming - I'm still not. It exploded about five times.'

BBC News confirmed that they were not involved. A spokesman said: 'There is no BBC News involvement in the events of this evening in docklands.'

A spokesperson for the Met Police confirmed it was a 'pre-planned filming event in the Canning Town area', and ther