A MASSIVE fireball explosion near The 02 Arena was caused by a convicted paedophile who blew up a BBC lorry while filming naked on his film set.
Sex offender Jacky Jahj, 38, loaded an old BBC truck and Union Jack draped vehicles with explosives in a pre-planned blast and filmed while the fire went out of control.
Hundreds of calls were made to emergency services on Saturday with many locals fearing there had been a terrorist attack.
Panicked residents caught the inferno on video from miles around as it sent flames and black smoke into the London sky.
Disgraced director and actor Jahj was jailed for four years in 2016 after being found guilty on four counts of sexual activity with two 15-year-olds after posing as a film producer.
Around 70 crew members have already walked out of his latest production dubbed ‘Project Dover’ after the shocking stunt.
A set worker described how police vehicles and a BBC truck were loaded “with explosives” which spread fear in communities across East London a week later.
The terrifying explosion was triggered by using gun powder and a detonation cord, which sent the roof of a police van 50ft in the air at an open-air yard in Silvertown, Newham.
One video posted on Reddit shows a naked Jhaj casually walking nearby as firefighters battled the searing flames.
Blasts were heard on Saturday on each side of the Thames near Canning Town when three loud explosions shocked residents.
Locals living close to last night’s blast were furious as they likened the explosion to a “bomb going off” and an “earthquake”.
Residents were not warned of the film production stunts, except for a post to the Borough of Greenwich’s official Facebook page.
The shock following the explosions resulted in over 90 calls to emergency services and the London City Airport shutting down operations for the evening.
A photo which the employee shared with The Sun shows a BBC World News 18-wheeler with debris which can be assumed to come from an explosion in front of it.
Around the truck, two police vehicles and a drone were also spotted flying overhead.
The whole scene took place in front of the O2, just in front Canary Wharf on Saturday.
One video of the fire showed it burning before it erupted in a bright orange explosion.
The person filming reacts to the explosion saying: “Oh my days, of my days, what did I just watch?”
“I thought it was fireworks, bruh.”
The blaze sparked mass confusion as the Royal Borough of Greenwich Council had warned residents that there would be a “loud explosion” during filming on August 24.
The Met Police said in a statement it was aware of the reports of explosions but there was “no risk to the public”.
The force said: “The Met was made aware of the pre-planned filming, including the use of explosives, prior to the event taking place on the evening of Saturday, 31 August.
“It appears this information was not disseminated as widely as it should have been and we are looking at the systems currently in place to establish why this was the case in this instance.”
The London Fire Brigade said it had “tackled” the blaze with four fire engines and 25 firefighters deployed to get it “under control”.
It said in a statement: “One van was destroyed by the fire and most of a car and lorry were damaged by the fire.
“There are currently no reports of any injuries.”
One witness said they heard “absolutely enormous and very loud explosions” next to their flat and a shipping container was on fire.
The corporation filmed near the location last weekend with it involving a “loud explosion” the Royal Borough of Greenwich said.
The BBC said it had no involvement in the event, a spokesman said: “There is no BBC News involvement in the events of this evening in docklands.”
