Baqing:Taipei The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Taiwan's top agency for China policy, has expressed its condolences to China after a deadly earthquake struck Tibet. The council has also urged Taiwanese nationals in the area to ensure their safety.

According to Focus Taiwan, the magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Baqing County in Nagqu Prefecture at 1033 p.m. on Thursday, with a depth of 10 kilometers, as reported by the China Earthquake Networks Center. By 7 a.m. on Friday, the disaster had resulted in 16 fatalities and 54 injuries, while 339 households reported damage to their homes, according to China's Xinhua News Agency.

The MAC noted that Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation is endeavoring to contact Taiwanese nationals in the affected region to assess their safety. The council highlighted that 164 Taiwanese were registered as being in Tibet through the government's travel registration system for China, Hong Kong, and Macau. The government assured that it would continue to closely monitor the situation.