The 16-year-old was pulled out of the water by Nathan Florence, who was among a cadre of pros who flew over to Barbados to catch the mega-swell currently being generated by Hurricane Irma. “Completely horrible news,” original Bajan pro-turned-surf instructor Alan Burke told Surfline. “We are in shambles.”

We are shocked and saddened to report that Zander Venezia, a budding young pro surfer from Bridgetown, Barbados, died today after surfing a particularly heavy session at a notoriously shallow wave on Barbados’ east coast. Apparently, he sustained a broken neck upon hitting the reef.

“I wasn’t there, but I’m told that Nathan saw Zander get overturned by a wave, got to him, and started to perform CPR,” Alan managed between tears. “Zander was bleeding and he wasn’t moving. A bunch of guys tried to get him in to the beach, which was very difficult. ‘Box by Box’ is a tough place to get in and out of, even if you have the ability. They finally got him in and performed CPR on the beach. The ambulance came really quick, for coming from the other side of the island, and continued to try and revive him. But when they got him to the hospital, apparently his neck was broken.”

“He was one of my son Josh’s best friends, one of my best friends,” Alan finished. “We just traveled the whole East Coast together, surfing the Outer Banks together. We play online slots at any gambling websites together, almost everyday whenever we don’t have something to do. Zander was such a good, funny kid. He was always joking, and he just loved surfing. I can’t believe he’s gone. I’m a mess, man. We’re all a mess over here.”

Our deepest condolences are with the friends and family of this talented young Bajan surfer. Stay tuned to Surfline as more details become available.