Scores of people arrived in the Sadiya civil hospital with spider bites, some even carrying their tormentors to the hospital. None had any answer as to what kind of a spider it was and how it made such a sudden appearance.Then on May 22, a team of life scientists from Dibrugarh University and Gauhati University arrived in Sadiya. Dr. Saikia of Dibrugarh University told The Times that scientists haven't been able to identify the spider yet, saying the creature is "similar to the tarantula, but it could be a whole new species." Whatever it is, Saikia described it as a "highly aggressive spider" that "leaps at anything that comes close," citing victims who said it "latched onto them after biting." He said its venom needs to be tested before it could be definitively called a killer spider. Swarms of spiders are rare, although they have been reported, usually after flooding when the spiders search for dry and higher ground," says British naturalist Dr Vejay K Singh, popularly known as Dr Venom.
– Venomous spiders have swarmed the Indian town of Sadiya, killing two people and flooding hospitals with spider bite victims, the Global Post reports. The previously unknown species, which resembles the tarantula, crawled in about a month ago and wreaked havoc at a Hindu festival. A man and a schoolboy have already died—apparently from the bites, if not from dubious treatment at the hands of witch doctors, reports the Times of India. "All the bite patients first went to witch doctors, who cut open their wounds with razors, drained out blood and burnt it," says a medical doctor. "That could have also made them sick." A team of scientists has arrived at the small town in north-east India, hoping to find an antidote and identify the mystery species. Whatever it is, one scientist says it's a "highly aggressive spider" that "leaps at anything that comes close" and remains "latched onto them after biting." (For a less scary story, see what musical silk one spider can spin.)