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ANCHORAGE - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski suffered a serious knee injury while skiing and will be confined to a wheelchair for several days, her aide said Tuesday.

The Alaska Republican tumbled as much as 300 feet at the Alyeska Ski Resort south of Anchorage, according to the ski patrol.

"I've been skiing all my life, and this was just one of those unfortunate accidents that can occur on the slopes on any given day," Murkowski said in a statement Tuesday.

The senator believes she tore two ligaments in her left knee and underwent an MRI exam in Washington on Tuesday, said her spokesman Mike Brumas.

"She's bruised and a little battered," he said. "Otherwise, she's OK."

Murkowski, 51, is an expert skier but she "lost her traction" while skiing Sunday on Alaska's Mount Alyeska, Brumas said.

Ben Habecker was among 28 patrol skiers on the mountain when he got a radio call from another patroller who witnessed the end of Murkowski's fall.

Murkowski had been skiing with two male companions on the second hardest of four difficulty levels when the accident occurred near the midway point of the 3,939-foot mountain, according to Habecker.

Murkowski was out of Habecker's line of vision but very close by. Guided by the other patroller's directions, he reached her in about a minute after she came to rest.

"She was actually smiling. She was fine, said she hurt her knee," he said. "She looked embarrassed."

Murkowski was transported down the slope on a rescue toboggan, her leg in a splint.

The senator was relatively unscathed, thanks to the location of her slide, Habecker said.

"The fall line she was in was totally clear," he said. "There were no obstacles, and she tumbled through powder."

U.S. Rep. Sonny Bono, a former 1960s pop star, died Jan. 5, 1998, when he slammed into a tree while skiing at the Heavenly Ski Resort on the Nevada-California state line. Less than a week earlier, Michael Kennedy, the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, died when he skied into a tree in Aspen, Colo., while playing football on skis.

Last April at Alyeska, extreme skier John Nicoletta of Aspen died when he tumbled onto rocks during a skiing competition.

Murkowski was appointed to the Senate in 2002 by her father, Frank Murkowski, who held the seat for more than two decades before he was elected governor of Alaska. She won election two years later.

Murkowski flew back to Washington Sunday night and was back at work Monday, Brumas said.