diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/documents/[id]/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/documents/[id]/+page.svelte
index b9e0e994..5a524328 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/documents/[id]/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/documents/[id]/+page.svelte
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import TranscriptionEditView from '$lib/components/TranscriptionEditView.svelte'
 import TranscriptionReadView from '$lib/components/TranscriptionReadView.svelte';
 import TranscriptionPanelHeader from '$lib/components/TranscriptionPanelHeader.svelte';
 import type { TranscriptionBlockData } from '$lib/types';
+import { getErrorMessage } from '$lib/errors';
 
 let { data } = $props();
 
@@ -129,6 +130,7 @@ async function reviewToggle(blockId: string) {
 
 let ocrRunning = $state(false);
 let ocrProgressMessage = $state('');
+let ocrErrorMessage = $state('');
 let ocrPollTimer = $state<ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null>(null);
 
 function translateOcrProgress(code: string): string {
@@ -154,6 +156,7 @@ function translateOcrProgress(code: string): string {
 
 async function triggerOcr(scriptType: string) {
 	ocrRunning = true;
+	ocrErrorMessage = '';
 	try {
 		const res = await fetch(`/api/documents/${doc.id}/ocr`, {
 			method: 'POST',
@@ -165,10 +168,14 @@ async function triggerOcr(scriptType: string) {
 			pollOcrJob(data.jobId);
 		} else {
 			ocrRunning = false;
+			const body = await res.json().catch(() => null);
+			const code = (body as { code?: string } | null)?.code;
+			ocrErrorMessage = code ? getErrorMessage(code) : m.ocr_status_error();
 		}
 	} catch (e) {
 		console.error('Failed to trigger OCR:', e);
 		ocrRunning = false;
+		ocrErrorMessage = m.ocr_status_error();
 	}
 }
 
@@ -185,6 +192,9 @@ function pollOcrJob(jobId: string) {
 				ocrPollTimer = null;
 				ocrRunning = false;
 				ocrProgressMessage = '';
+				if (job.status === 'FAILED') {
+					ocrErrorMessage = m.ocr_status_error();
+				}
 				await loadTranscriptionBlocks();
 				annotationReloadKey++;
 				panelMode = transcriptionBlocks.length > 0 ? 'read' : 'edit';
@@ -399,6 +409,11 @@ onMount(() => {
 					onClose={() => (transcribeMode = false)}
 				/>
 				<div class="flex-1 overflow-y-auto">
+					{#if ocrErrorMessage}
+						<div class="mx-4 mt-4 rounded-sm border border-red-200 bg-red-50 px-4 py-3">
+							<p class="text-sm text-red-700">{ocrErrorMessage}</p>
+						</div>
+					{/if}
 					{#if ocrRunning}
 						<div class="flex flex-1 flex-col items-center justify-center px-6 py-12 text-center">
 							<svg
diff --git a/ocr-service/main.py b/ocr-service/main.py
index 558c91d3..d5f67370 100644
--- a/ocr-service/main.py
+++ b/ocr-service/main.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """OCR microservice — FastAPI app with Surya and Kraken engine support."""
 
+import asyncio
 import io
 import logging
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
@@ -52,6 +53,7 @@ async def run_ocr(request: OcrRequest):
 
     Downloads the PDF from the provided URL, converts pages to images,
     and runs the appropriate OCR engine based on scriptType.
+    OCR engines run in a thread pool so the event loop stays free for /health.
     """
     if not _models_ready:
         raise HTTPException(status_code=503, detail="Models not loaded yet")
@@ -66,10 +68,10 @@ async def run_ocr(request: OcrRequest):
                 status_code=400,
                 detail="Kraken model not available — cannot process Kurrent script",
             )
-        blocks = kraken_engine.extract_blocks(images, request.language)
+        blocks = await asyncio.to_thread(kraken_engine.extract_blocks, images, request.language)
     else:
         # TYPEWRITER, HANDWRITING_LATIN, UNKNOWN — all use Surya
-        blocks = surya_engine.extract_blocks(images, request.language)
+        blocks = await asyncio.to_thread(surya_engine.extract_blocks, images, request.language)
 
     threshold = get_threshold(script_type)
     for block in blocks: