VOLGOGRAD, February 26. /TASS/. A Boeing-757 en route from Ashgabat to Birmingham made an emergency landing in Russia’s southern city of Volgograd over the death of a passenger but later took off with his dead body onboard, a source in investigative agencies told TASS on Sunday.

"The passenger’s dead body remained onboard the plane" when it took off, the source said.

"A team of investigators that arrived at the airport was not let inside the foreign plane," the source said. "Such decisions are taken by the pilot as a representative of the state owning the aircraft. That is why any pre-investigation checks are out of the question and we can say nothing about the cause of death."

"The decision to make an emergency landing was taken by the pilot when the passenger was still alive but when the plane landed in Volgograd emergency doctors certified his death."

A source in the local law enforcement agencies told TASS said it was an 85-year old man. According to media reports, he might have died of an asthmatic attack.

The plane was carrying 189 passengers and nine crew members.