LA PALOMA - An early morning fire at a home in La Paloma near San Benito left two kids dead.

It happened on Rebecca lane around 3 a.m. Sunday morning.

Eric Cervantes and his mother said what they saw this morning was a nightmare. They live nearby where the fire happened that claimed the lives of the two young children.

Cervantes said he smelled something out of the ordinary and knew something was wrong, so he asked his mom.

"I asked her, 'Is there something burning? Incense or a candle or something ?' And she told me no," Cervantes said.

Cervantes said he opened the door and saw the flames.

He told us he ran to help his neighbor, but it was too late.

The father and 25-year-old brother were able to escape.

The 25-year-old was flown out for medical attention. The father sustained burns on the arm.

Authorities said a 9-year-old and 11-year-old children did not survive.

"It's hard to know that those two kids died in there. It hurts so bad because the youngest one used to cruise around on his bicycle, playing. Sometimes I gave him a popsicle. He was the cutest boy," said Cervantes' mother, Nicole Guevara.

Cameron County emergency management coordinator Tom Hushen told CHANNEL 5 NEWS the cause of the fire is still undetermined at this time.