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NEW YORK – An 8-year-old-boy ran back into his burning apartment to save his little brother but died along with him in the thick smoke and flames, according to neighbors and relatives.

Tyanthony Duckette and his sister were carried out of Thursday morning’s blaze at the Queens duplex by his grandmother Carlota Wilson. But when she was unable to find 17-month-old Daniel Wilson, Tyanthony ran back to save him.

Shortly afterward, the two children were pulled out of the house by firefighters. They couldn’t be revived at a hospital.

“The boy was very close, very, very tight-knit with all of his siblings,” the boys’ grandfather, Andrew Wilson, told the Daily News of New York. “I’m not surprised that he would do it. He would never want to see his little brother suffer.”

Wilson, 59, said, “He’s our little determined hero.”

Neighbor Carrie Nelson told the New York Post the mother was hysterical.

“She was screaming: ‘My kids are in there!'” Nelson said.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Friday. Fire officials were looking at the rear bedroom where much of the fire was, specifically at a light fixture. It was not clear whether a light bulb or lamp or some other material fell onto bedding and sparked the blaze.

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