UPDATED: Lyme man dies in storm aftermath

Lyme - A local man died Sunday afternoon after he suffered a heart attack and fell into a man-made pond in his backyard about 4 p.m.

Richard Seckla, 75, of 22 Oak St., was pulled from the pond by rescuers who then tried to resuscitate him. An ambulance brought him to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, where he was pronounced dead at 5:10 p.m., according to hospital spokesman Kelly Anthony.

An autopsy is scheduled.

Seckla's neighbors said Sunday that his backyard pond was unusually high due to the rain and that he may have been trying to clear trees that had been blown into the yard by the weekend storm.

A pair of canoes and a boat were stored in the backyard, and a pair of wading boots and a belt were lying against a tree by the water's edge.

The yard is surrounded by trees and the flooded body of water, which was about 100 feet wide and close to 300 feet long, stretched back into the woods.

Mike Sicord who lives around the corner on Oak Tree Lane, was coming home from the store when he saw the ambulance on adjacent Grassy Hill Road.

"The Lawrence & Memorial people were working on him in the Old Lyme ambulance, then they transferred him into the L&M ambulance and drove away," Sicord said.

Life Star helicopter was originally called to transport Seckla but was unable to fly because of weather conditions.

j.hanckel@theday.com