A WORCESTER schoolgirl died while skiing in Austria after plunging off the edge of a cliff.

Kathryn Nichols, an Alice Ottley pupil, fell up to 20 metres after losing control on a piste in the popular St Anton Am Arlberg resort, near Innsbruck, yesterday afternoon.

The 10-year-old was flown to the nearby Zams hospital by air ambulance but died from her injuries, said a Foreign Office spokeswoman.

Kathryn, who lived in Tenbury Wells, was on holiday with her family of five when the accident happened, at about 2.30pm Austrian time (1530GMT).

Austrian police said Kathryn's father suffered minor injuries when he slipped as he tried to help her, but was expected to leave hospital today.

Police believe she hit a barrier designed to protect slopes from avalanches, but it was not yet known whether that was before or after she went off the cliff. They said it was possible Kathryn lost control on a long, drawn-out curve on the slope.

Teachers at the Alice Ottley school, where Kathryn had become a pupil in September last year, said she was a lovely, sensitive and thoughtful girl who was a "delight".

"We're obviously devastated as it's such a tragic waste of a young life," said Morag Chapman, headmistress of the Upper Tything school. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this terrible time, and if there is anything we can do, we shall do it."

The Foreign Office said: "Her family were with her and they are being offered whatever support we can give."