diff --git a/pyscriptjs/src/interpreter.ts b/pyscriptjs/src/interpreter.ts
index d3f774b..156d26b 100644
--- a/pyscriptjs/src/interpreter.ts
+++ b/pyscriptjs/src/interpreter.ts
@@ -105,6 +105,8 @@ class PyScript:
         if append:
             child = document.createElement('div');
             element = document.querySelector(f'#{element_id}');
+            if not element:
+                return
             exec_id = exec_id or element.childElementCount + 1
             element_id = child.id = f"{element_id}-{exec_id}";
             element.appendChild(child);
diff --git a/pyscriptjs/src/pyscript.py b/pyscriptjs/src/pyscript.py
index 1f66b26..96379a6 100644
--- a/pyscriptjs/src/pyscript.py
+++ b/pyscriptjs/src/pyscript.py
@@ -96,6 +96,8 @@ class PyScript:
         if append:
             child = document.createElement('div');
             element = document.querySelector(f'#{element_id}');
+            if not element:
+                return
             exec_id = exec_id or element.childElementCount + 1
             element_id = child.id = f"{element_id}-{exec_id}";
             element.appendChild(child);