diff --git a/osc/fetch.py b/osc/fetch.py
index c7f63c0b..1b982d07 100644
--- a/osc/fetch.py
+++ b/osc/fetch.py
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ class OscFileGrabber:
                 exc.exception = e
                 exc.code = e.code
                 raise exc
+            except IOError, e:
+                raise URLGrabError(4, str(e))
         finally:
             f.close()
         return filename