Schwarzenegger standing during ski accident-report

LOS ANGELES, Dec 28 (Reuters) Arnold Schwarzenegger's leg-breaking ski accident proves he is hardly as indestructible as the ''Terminator'' he played in the movies, and an eyewitness account of the incident suggests he's less coordinated, too.

A ski instructor who said he was with the California governor when he fractured his thigh bone last weekend told the Los Angeles Times that Schwarzenegger was standing still just before he fell, not racing down the slopes as might be imagined.

The instructor, Adi Erber, said that as Schwarzenegger, 59, prepared to descend the final stretch of a ski run last Saturday, his ski pole got caught in one of his skis, causing him to trip and fall in what Erber described as a ''freak accident.'' According to Erber's account in the Times yesterday, the Austrian-born former bodybuilder and Hollywood action star was in pain and had to be taken down the hill by a rescue team on a toboggan.

The newspaper also quoted an unnamed friend of the governor who spoke to Schwarzenegger after the accident as saying Schwarzenegger was ''aggravated'' by what happened and described the accident as a ''slow fall'' on an icy surface.

Erber or others at the ski school at the Sun Valley ski resort in Idaho could not immediately be reached for comment. And the governor's office declined repeated requests to disclose details of the accident, saying only that he had broken his leg while skiing with family on vacation.

Schwarzenegger underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair his fractured right femur bone in a 90-minute procedure that doctors termed a success.

Spokeswoman Julie Soderlund said on Wednesday that Schwarzenegger was ''feeling great and ready to get back to work.'' She said he spent the day working on the state of the state address he delivers on January 9 and the state budget he must present to the California Legislature the following day. He is slated to be sworn in for a second term as governor on January 5.

Soderland said he was expected to be discharged from the hospital later this week.

Schwarzenegger was elected governor in 2003 in a special recall campaign that unseated Gray Davis, then the Democratic incumbent.

Before launching his political career, Schwarzenegger was best known for his signature role as the virtually invincible, lead-slinging cyborg from the future in the popular ''Terminator'' movies.

Reuters BDP DB1055