"It is believed that the men had been picking mangoes and were travelling with another man to Katherine," Northern Territory Police said in a statement.
The asylum seekers who escaped were part of a group of 50 Christians allowed out of detention to attend the Catholic church service in Darwin.
"They were returned to the Berrimah Detention Centre and into the custody of immigration officers," police said after apprehending them.
In the Long-term health costs of extended mandatory detention of asylum seekers report, Dr Tony Ward of Milbur Consulting conservatively estimates that trauma sufferers will have lifetime mental health costs 50 percent more than the average - amounting to an additional $25,000 per person.
Meanwhile, a separate media statement from the Yarra Institute for Religion and Social Policy announced the release of a report later today that says prolonged detention of asylum seekers results in significant additional costs for their long-term health after they are released into the community.
This is the first study of its type in Australia, applying innovative costing approaches developed in the Netherlands.
The full report will be available online at www.yarrainstitute.org.au after its media launch in Melbourne at 11am today, the statement adds.
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