The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC)Saturday urged insurance companies in Chongqing,a municipality in southwest China,to pay prompt compensation to victims of the catastrophic gas blowout in the area that has claimed 198lives.

According to an official of the CIRC,its Chongqing office has set up an emergency leading group to oversee the issue.

Official figures show that local clients in the affected area have bought premiums worth a total of 400million yuan (about 48million US dollars),including 230million yuan in the form of property coverage,and the rest for life insurance.

Some of the victims have already been compensated by local insurance companies.

The gas blowout took place at 10:00pm Tuesday,when a well of the China National Petroleum Corporation suddenly burst,and released a high concentration of natural gas and poisonous sulfurated hydrogen.

The well was successfully capped Saturday morning.