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London bus explodes during filming for action thriller London bus explosion for movie alarms onlookers fearing terror attack
(about 1 hour later)
A double decker bus exploded in the heart of London on Sunday – but it was all for a film. A London doubledecker that exploded while crossing Lambeth Bridge in a Hollywood film stunt alarmed onlookers who feared it was a terror attack.
Many Londoners were left confused after seeing the bus go up in flames as it drove along Lambeth Bridge in central London. Children in a nearby park “freaked”, according to author Sophie Kinsella, who saw the top deck of the bus blow up as it travelled towards Westminster on Sunday morning.
A spokesman for the Port of London Authority confirmed it was a stunt for a movie and that the bridge had been closed off. The stunt was reportedly being filmed for a scene in The Foreigner, which will star Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan.
But the scene took some by surprise. Author Sophie Kinsella tweeted: “Hey film types, next time you blow up a bus on Lambeth Bridge maybe tell us first so children in park aren’t freaked?” Nigel Huddleston, the Conservative MP for mid-Worcestershire, caught the explosion on video. He said the “scale and realism of the explosion would have worried a lot of people”.
The Conservative MP for Mid Worcestershire, Nigel Huddleston, posted a video of the explosion on Twitter with the message: “Anyone worried about the exploding bus on Lambeth Bridge just now? It was just for a movie.” “Anyone worried about the exploding bus on Lambeth Bridge just now?” he tweeted. “It was just for a movie.”
The controlled explosion was shot for a scene in new action film The Foreigner, starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan. In a notice warning residents about it, producers described the film as a gritty action thriller. It is directed by Martin Campbell, who was behind James Bond films Casino Royale and GoldenEye. One Twitter user, Failnaut, who saw a video of the blast, said it reminded him of the 7/7 attacks on the London transport network. He said: “If you’re filming a London bus blowing up and tweeting it out, say it’s fake. Some of us lived through 7/7 waiting to see who’d died.”
The notice, posted on Twitter, stated: “The explosion is controlled and operated by our special effects team. Every precaution will be taken to ensure the safety of the people in the area.” The blast created a huge fireball that ripped off the top of the bus as it crossed the bridge, leaving what another onlooker, Chris Cheeseman, described as “a grim aftermath” with dummy bodies visible on the top deck.
Kinsella tweeted: “Hey film types next time you blow up a bus on Lambeth Bridge maybe tell us first so children in park aren’t freaked?” She added: “I was freaked too. Looked very real.”
Huddleston said: “Local residents and businesses were informed and notices posted in lobbies and lifts saying to expect ‘a controlled explosion’ between 9am and 10am.
“But the scale and realism of the explosion would have worried a lot of people who were quite a long way off and not able to see the film crew and cameras. Walking past parliament a few minutes later, some tourists clearly had no idea whether it was real or not.
“It is great that London is such a desirable location for filming but the the filmmakers and authorities could clearly have done a better job at communicating – especially in times of heightened security.”