World

Pro teen surfer dies in Barbados catching Irma wave

Zander reportedly fell off his board and hit a shallow reef

Afp September 07, 2017

A picture taken on September 6, 2017 shows a general view of the Pointe de la Verdure beach in Gosier, on the French overseas island of Guadeloupe, as high winds from Hurricane Irma hit the island. Monster Hurricane Irma slammed into Caribbean islands today after making landfall in Barbuda, packing ferocious winds and causing major flooding in low-lying areas. As the rare Category Five storm barreled its way across the Caribbean, it brought gusting winds of up to 185 miles per hour (294 kilometers per hour), weather experts said. PHOTO: AFP.

WASHINGTON DC: A promising young professional surfer has died at the age of 16 while catching a wave in Barbados during Hurricane Irma, the World Surf League said.

Zander Venezia, a native of Barbados, reportedly fell off his board and hit a shallow reef at a beach called Box by Box, it said. He and other surfers were riding a swell generated by the Category Five hurricane.
Speaking to the magazine Surfline, fellow surfer named Alan Burke said: "Zander was bleeding, and he wasn't moving. They tried to get him to the beach quickly, which was very difficult. Box by Box is a tough place to get in and out of, even if you have the ability."

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The son of a surfer, Venezia won the Rip Curl Grom Search in the Outer Banks in North Carolina in mid-August, and in April he won the National Scholastic Surfing Association regional championships. The Barbados newspaper Nation News called Venezia one of the island's most promising junior surfers.