NAWABSHAH: Investigators scoured the wreckage on Monday of a weekend train derailment that killed at least 34 people, the latest deadly crash to hit Pakistan’s antiquated railway network.

More than 1,000 passengers were aboard the Hazara Express when it came off the tracks in a flat, rural part of Sindh province near Nawabshah, around 250 kilometres (160 miles) by rail from the southern port city of Karachi.

It was winding its way north on a 33-hour journey to Havelian in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when disaster struck near Sarhari around lunchtime.

“I was sitting in my shop... Suddenly, there was a huge bang,” said Azmat Ali, 25, who has a store near the crash site.

“We immediately thought an accident had taken place. We started running and when we arrived... we pulled out bodies and injured people from the wreckage.”

Muhammad Afzal Kolachi, a spokesman for Pakistan Railways, told AFP Monday the death toll had risen to 34.