diff --git a/src/core/qgspointlocator.cpp b/src/core/qgspointlocator.cpp
index b0b5437ea33..57cd030bed4 100644
--- a/src/core/qgspointlocator.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgspointlocator.cpp
@@ -1160,8 +1160,15 @@ bool QgsPointLocator::rebuildIndex( int maxFeaturesToIndex )
   }
 
   QgsPointLocator_Stream stream( dataList );
-  mRTree.reset( RTree::createAndBulkLoadNewRTree( RTree::BLM_STR, stream, *mStorage, fillFactor, indexCapacity,
+  try {
+    mRTree.reset( RTree::createAndBulkLoadNewRTree( RTree::BLM_STR, stream, *mStorage, fillFactor, indexCapacity,
                 leafCapacity, dimension, variant, indexId ) );
+  } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+    QgsDebugError(QStringLiteral("An exception has occurred during the creation of RTree: %1").arg(e.what()));
+    destroyIndex();
+    return false;
+  }
+
 
   if ( ctx && mRenderer )
   {