Venomous Spiders Invade Indian Town, 2 Dead

ARACHNOPHOBIA: Swarms Of Venomous Spiders Invade Indian Town, Kill 2

An army of venomous spiders invaded a town in India, killing two people -- and scientists still don't know much about the arachnids or where they came from.

Like in a scene from the movie "Arachnophobia," droves of eight-legged pests invaded the town of Sadiya in May, during a Hindu festival. Witnesses said the creepy crawlies latched onto and bit anything that moved or breathed, according to The Times of India.

Doctors today are still trying to figure out what venom the spiders emit, but they do know that they killed two people -- a man, Purnakanta Buragohain, and an unidentified boy. They injured many others. Resident Jintu Gogoi told the paper that he spent a day in the hospital experiencing extreme pain and nausea over a mere finger bite.

The spiders were highly aggressive and came in waves to wreak havoc, locals said.

Not much is known about this menace. "It leaps at anything that comes close. Some of the victims claimed the spider latched on to them after biting," Dibrugarh University Dr. L.R. Saikia told Fox News.

"If that is so, it needs to be dealt with carefully. The chelicerae and fangs of this critter are quite powerful."

The problem was so bad, Sadiya authorities considered spraying the town with DDT, despite the insecticide's health risks.

Arachnid experts are working on identifying the species, but haven't nailed down an answer. Speculation includes tarantulas, black wishbones or funnel-web spider. The consensus appears to be that there's no way the spiders that attacked Sadiya were native to the area.

Researchers are also still testing the toxicity of the venom.

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