diff --git a/src/libponyrt/mem/alloc.c b/src/libponyrt/mem/alloc.c
index 587e17df86..d78cae234a 100644
--- a/src/libponyrt/mem/alloc.c
+++ b/src/libponyrt/mem/alloc.c
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ void* ponyint_virt_alloc(size_t bytes)
   {
     fprintf(stderr, "out of memory trying to allocate %zu bytes: %s\n", bytes, strerror(errno));
     pony_assert(0);
+    abort();
   }
 
   return p;