DEVASTATED schoolgirls were due back in Wycombe last night after witnessing the tragic death of classmate Amy Ransom on a mountainside in Vietnam.

Pupils and teachers from the Wycombe High School expedition were expected back from Hanoi yesterday after 17-year-old Amy fell 500 metres when she slipped on a mountain-top path.

The teenager, from Bryants Bottom in Hughenden Valley, was part of a 12-strong group of eight pupils, their teacher, two Vietnamese guides and a fully qualified World Challenge Expeditions leader, who was a former Army captain.

They were trekking up the Fan Si Pan mountain near the village of Sa Pa in northern Vietnam when the tragedy happened.

One of the guides fell with Amy while trying to catch her but was caught on the mountainside after falling just 20ft.

Tributes have been flooding in for the teenager.

A family friend whose wife taught Amy to play the piano described her as a lovely person.

Gavin Mole, of Kiln Lane, Lacey Green, said: "She was here just before the trip. They had just had their injections and were all excited and talking about it."

She added: "I understand she had just passed her driving test. She was just a lovely person. She was a lovely player of the piano.

"Our thoughts are with the family. I don't know how they will cope, I really don't. It's absolutely tragic."

Nigel Vickery, Mayor of High Wycombe, said he had visited the school last week where he was shown pictures of last year's trip.

He added: "My thoughts are with the family and with the other girls on the trip who must be devastated."

Amy's body will be brought back to the UK as soon as formalities in Vietnam have been finalised.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office in London said: "We are helping with arrangements for the party to return to the UK and will help or assist the girl's family if they decide to fly out."