A University of Alberta engineering student who died during a trip to Mexico on the weekend had "charisma" and a bright future in the mining industry, according to a professor.

Chris Rogers was a top mining engineering student at the University of Alberta. (Twitter)

Chris Rogers, 21, died on the weekend while vacationing at the Great Parnassus Resort and Spa in Cancun.

"With the grades he had, with the achievements he had, with the charisma he managed to extol, he certainly was going to be a leader," said engineering Prof. Tim Joseph. "He was going to be someone at the top of the industry. The mining industry has lost a potential great leader.

"It's very emotional for all of us," Joesph said. ""Absolute horror."

While investigators are not disclosing details, media reports suggest Rogers had been punched in the head while drinking in a bar and later fell from a hotel room balcony.

Joseph said Rogers's fellow students were in disbelief over the explanation.

"This is not what we know of Chris," he said. "It's hard to believe and I think most of us still don't believe it.

"He is the last person you would ever think anything would happen to," Joseph said. "He was always in the front of the class — very attentive, almost perfect marks in some cases and in some courses. Definitely an A, A-plus student all the way through."

Canadian authorities are working with Mexican police on the investigation, but are providing few details.