( CNN ) -- A swarm of poisonous spiders has wreaked havoc in a remote town in northeast India , scaring its inhabitants and possibly killing two people . According to a report Sunday in The Times of India , a large number of spiders descended on the town of Sadiya in Assam as a local festival came to end on May 8 and sparked panic as residents tried to avoid the swarm . The report said that scores of people later visited the town 's hospital with spider bites and a middle-aged man and a teenage boy died after being bitten by the spiders . The incident alarmed local officials who told residents to stay indoors and considered spraying the town with insecticide , the report said . Jintu Gogoi told The Times he felt excruciating pain and nausea after being bitten by one of the spiders and his finger was black and swollen . However , the attack has puzzled spider experts . Last month , LR Saikia and a team of researchers from Dibrugarh University visited the town to investigate what had happened . Saikia told CNN that he believed the man may have died from a snake bite , while the boy may not have suffered any bite at all . `` The evidence that we gathered does not support the claim that they died after being bitten by spiders , '' Saikia said . Saikia added that the man 's relatives appeared to have taken him to traditional spiritual healers instead of qualified doctors when symptoms appeared . He confirmed that about 12 people have visited hospitals in the area recently , complaining of spider bites . `` Only two of them were confirmed bitten by spiders . But they were ordinary spiders , '' Saikia said . Investigators drew their conclusions from questioning relatives of the two dead people about the type of bite marks and symptoms , Saikia said . Some 20 spiders resembling tarantulas from the incident were handed over to investigators during their week-long stay . Tarantulas indigenous to the region are not known to be fatally venomous , but about five of the recovered spiders are currently undergoing tests . When asked if spiders were likely to have swarmed the town of just under 1,000 people , Saikia said , `` This is just a story ... based on rumors . '' CNN 's Harmeet Singh in Delhi contributed to this report .
Indian newspaper reports a spider attack on remote town . Many people killed and scores bitten by tarantula - like spiders . Expert questions whether it caused by spider attack . Spiders collected from forest are undergoing tests .