The O2 arena Silvertown fire: Firefighters tackle London blaze

A “controlled explosion” on a film set sparked a fire that destroyed a van and damaged two other vehicles near the O2 arena in London.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said they had sent 25 firefighters and four fire engines to the scene, near Dock Road and Trinity Buoy Wharf in Silvertown, at 7.51pm on Saturday.

Terrified residents posted on social media site X about the noise and smoke billowing across the the river Thames towards the venue – before police said the incident was part of pre-planned filming.

“There is no risk to the public”, the Metropolitan Police said of the blaze at an open-air yard across the river from the venue.

The controlled explosion spread and became out of control, the LFB said in a statement.

One van was destroyed by the fire and most of a car and lorry were damaged but the blaze was under control by 9.02pm, the statement said.

There are no reports of injuries, and crews will be at the site for the rest of the evening, it added.

Earlier on Saturday, the Metropolitan Police had said the incident was “part of a pre-planned filming event in the Canning Town E16 area” and there had been no risk to to public.

Local residents have spoken of their surprise and shock following the incident, with one calling the scene “carnage” on social media.

Kieran McHugh told BBC News he had been on his computer when he heard three loud bangs. On looking out of his window, he saw a huge plume of black smoke with flames leaping into sky.

Mr McHugh said he had not seen any notification of any filming this weekend from the local authority.