diff --git a/src/llama-context.cpp b/src/llama-context.cpp
index 0eabc76ddf..06e93b19cb 100644
--- a/src/llama-context.cpp
+++ b/src/llama-context.cpp
@@ -2220,8 +2220,14 @@ llama_context * llama_init_from_model(
         return nullptr;
     }
 
-    auto * ctx = new llama_context(*model, params);
-    return ctx;
+    try {
+        auto * ctx = new llama_context(*model, params);
+        return ctx;
+    } catch (const std::exception & err) {
+        LLAMA_LOG_ERROR("%s: failed to initialize the context: %s\n", __func__, err.what());
+    }
+
+    return nullptr;
 }
 
 // deprecated