UPDATED: Two prisoners who broke out of the Darwin City watch house around 4:50am this morning in an unexplained escape, have been apprehended, authorities said.

NT Corrections issued a statement late Wednesday to say the men had been apprehended by NT Police in the afternoon and returned to custody.

“The immediate priority for Corrections is to work with NT Police as part of their ongoing investigation and to ensure that necessary measures are taken to ensure the ongoing security of the facility,” the Corrections statement said.

The two men broke out of a first floor cell window at the watch house, with photos from the scene indicating they had somehow cut metal panels from outside the window and used what appeared to be a bed sheet to climb out.

Corrections said the investigation into the jail break was still in “an early stage”, but that the two men used “an instrument to apply blunt force to breach the secure laminated glass”, but made no mention of the metal panel outside the window that appeared cut.

“We are implementing immediate measures to address identified vulnerabilities and operating procedures to reduce the risk of further incidents,” Corrections said.

Those measures include reviewing how prisoners are monitored during day and night shifts, changing operational procedures at the watch house and reviewing security logs and CCTV “for accuracy”.

In its original statement issued at 6:15am Wednesday, NT Police director of communications Mark Wilton did not say what time the men escaped from the police watch house on Knuckey Street, or how, but said the two male prisoners were last seen about 4.50am near Bridge Toyota on the Stuart Highway in Stuart Park.

“One prisoner was shirtless, wearing dark shorts and thongs,” Mr Wilton said.

“The second prisoner was wearing a green T-shirt, dark shorts, and thongs.

“Members of the public are urged not to approach the individuals if sighted but to contact police immediately.”

Mr Wilton said police are conducting extensive searches.

It is understood the men were in jail for several domestic violence related offences.

The ABC and NT News reported in January that prisoners have been housed in the NT Police administration headquarters, the Knuckey Street police station along with police watch houses in Palmerston, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, for some time because the prisons are full.

Police Commissioner Michael Murphy was cited in the NT News saying there was extra security in watch houses to deal with the prisoners.

Corrections said it will undertake an internal investigation “in conjunction to the police investigation” into the incident and would provide further updates as information became available.

Corrections has been using the Darwin City watch house to jail up to 40 sentenced prisoners since March 2023. It is operated by the Corrections Department and not police.

Four corrections officers were working the night at the time of the breakout. It is the second escape from the watch house and the first since May.