Marina Davydova Karlova, widow of late Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov, reacts in front of his coffin, during a ceremonial farewell with full state honors on the tarmac of Ankara’s Esenboga Airport on December 20, 2016, before the coffin is transported on a Russian plane for Moscow.

The widow and mother of Russian ambassador, Andrei Karlov, broke down in tears as his body was returned to his homeland after he was gunned down in Ankara on Monday, a newspaper report has revealed.

His mother Maria also struggled to contain her grief as the coffin, covered with a Russian flag, was carried off the plane by soldiers at the Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, The Daily Mail report said. The family were supported by Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who also attended the military ceremony.

According to the report, widow Marina had a ‘nervous breakdown’ in the moments after he was assassinated in Ankara on Monday. As Karlov was gunned down from behind by off-duty policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas, 22, Marina fell to the floor like others in the audience at the photographic exhibition.

Marina attended a memorial ceremony at Ankara airport before her husband’s body was taken back to Russia. She wept as her husband’s flag-draped coffin was carried by a Turkish honor guard.

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