Taipei, Oct. 23 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Taiwan's top China policy agency, on Friday expressed condolences to China over a deadly earthquake in Tibet and urged Taiwanese nationals in the area to stay safe.

The magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Baqing County in Nagqu Prefecture at 10:33 p.m. Thursday, at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

As of 7 a.m. Friday, the earthquake had killed 16 people and injured 54 others, and 339 households had reported damage to their homes, China's Xinhua News Agency reported.

The MAC said Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation was trying to contact Taiwanese nationals in the affected area to check on their safety.

According to the government's registration system for Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau, 164 people were registered as being in Tibet, the council said. It urged them to stay safe and said the government would closely monitor the situation.