diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/engine/internal/InternalEngine.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/engine/internal/InternalEngine.java
index b6a6ea2bacc..9f2c7921b4b 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/engine/internal/InternalEngine.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/engine/internal/InternalEngine.java
@@ -663,6 +663,7 @@ public class InternalEngine extends AbstractIndexShardComponent implements Engin
             return newSearcher(source, searcher, manager);
         } catch (Throwable ex) {
             logger.error("failed to acquire searcher, source {}", ex, source);
+            ensureOpen(); // throw EngineCloseException here if we are already closed
             throw new EngineException(shardId, ex.getMessage());
         }
     }