Pro surfer dies after trying to ride huge waves created by Hurricane Irma

A talented teen surfer with Olympic aspirations has died in Barbados after slamming into a reef while riding Hurricane Irma's historic swells.

Zander Venezia, a breakout star from Bridgetown, Barbados, suffered fatal injuries Tuesday while surfing with fellow pros who flew to the Caribbean island to catch the Category 5 hurricane's monster waves, Surfline magazine reported.


Venezia, 16, reportedly got caught in a set that drove him into the shallow reef.

"He was knocked unconscious and drowned," local surf instructor and former pro Alan Burke told Surfline.