RESIDENTS in Coonabarabran are struggling to come to terms with the tragic news two young brothers are dead and their 66-year-old maternal grandmother is arrested after allegedly trying to take her own life.

Police were alerted to the tragedy when conducting a welfare check at the family home just after 2pm on Monday when the brothers didn’t attend school.

The boys’ deaths are now a double homicide investigation.

The bodies of six-year-old Sam and seven-year-old Max were found by police officers who forced entry to the house.

Sam’s body was located in a bedroom, with Max’s body found in another room in the house. Investigating detectives believe the brothers were suffocated.

The family relocated from the central coast to Coonabarabran less than 12 months ago.

NSW Police said the boys’ grandmother, Kathleen Heggs, tried to take her own life.

Police remain at the home to complete their forensic  examination, with post-mortems on the two boys scheduled for Thursday.

Heggs remains under police guard at a mental health facility.

State Member for Barwon, Roy Butler, said in a statement the death of any child is always devastating.

“In a small, close community, where everyone is connected in some way, it hits even harder,” Mr Butler said.

“Any death is tragic, but in circumstances where it’s avoidable, it causes even more pain.

“My heart goes out to the people of Coonabarabran and the broader state at this time of grief and loss.

“No-one is immune to seeing a future of unlimited potential for a child taken away.

“While we all want answers, at this point we need to let police and other agencies conduct their investigations and establish the facts about what has happened,” Mr Butler said.

Officers from Orana Mid-Western Police District are investigating the circumstances of the deaths under Strike Force Darnum, assisted by detectives from State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000. Information is treated in strict confidence.

The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.