A group of cavers who were trapped underground by Storm Amy flooding have been brought to safety after a 30-hour rescue mission.
The three men were stranded in 'appalling conditions' for 42 hours in the Dowber Gill Passage, near Grassington, North Yorkshire, from Thursday until Saturday morning.
The alarm was raised at around 9pm on Thursday by one of their wives when they failed to return and more than 100 volunteers took part in the 'long and difficult' rescue mission.
The missing cavers were located at 2.30am on Friday but rescue efforts were frustrated by worsening weather, flooding and rough terrain.
Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association alongside neighbouring caving teams, including Calder Valley Search & Rescue Team, Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation, Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service and Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team took part in the rescue.
Crews on the surface dealt with 'appalling' weather to maintain communications while underground teams worked in relays to guide the cavers back.
The final caver was brought back to the surface at 2.30am on Saturday.
Rescue team leader Derek Hammond said the trio could have been home 'in time for breakfast' if they reached them an hour or two earlier.
A group of cavers who were trapped underground by Storm Amy flooding have been brought to safety after a 30-hour rescue mission
The three men were stranded in 'appalling conditions' for 42 hours in the Dowber Gill Passage, near Grassington, North Yorkshire, from Thursday until Saturday morning
'Unfortunately the weather had a different plan for us,' he said.
'The immediate danger is the water and, potentially in certain parts of the cave, drowning.
'Had the water level risen in those places, it would have been exceedingly dangerous.'
The men were exhausted but fortunately none sustained injuries.
Meanwhile, Storm Amy wreaked havoc across the country and a massive clear-up operation remains underway after the 100mph storm crippled Scotland’s transport network and left more than 85,000 homes without power.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), the distribution network operator for the north of Scotland, said as of 3.30pm on Sunday afternoon that power had been restored for more than 71,000 customers.
There remained more than 17,000 homes who were yet to be reconnected, they said, as 'the sustained, storm-force winds have posed considerable challenges.'
In a statement on their website, SSEN said: 'More than three quarters of those who lost power due to the storm have now been reconnected, and we're deploying huge resources to reconnect those remaining customers, but this will take time.'
Dozens of roads and motorways were blocked by fallen trees, while transport networks were paralysed by delays and cancellations.
The alarm was raised after at 9pm on Thursday by one of their wives when they failed to return and more 100 volunteers took part in the 'long and difficult' rescue mission
The missing cavers were located at 2.30am on Friday but rescue efforts were frustrated by worsening weather, flooding and rough terrain
All trains were halted out of Scotland’s busiest railway station, Glasgow Central, with Network Rail responding to more than 170 separate instances across the country.
And in Ireland, a man died in a 'weather-related' incident in the Letterkenny area of County Donegal, shortly after 4.15pm on Friday.
In Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, an entire flat roof was ripped away from a block of flats, while a derelict building collapsed in Broomielaw, Glasgow, covering a car in debris.
Comedian Jason Manford shared the terrifying moment his flight rocked from side to side and was forced to abort landing amid blustery Storm Amy winds.
Manford was flying from London City Airport to Belfast yesterday ahead of a planned gig in Northern Ireland's capital city - which was later cancelled due to the 'extreme weather conditions'.
Posting to his Instagram, the 44-year-old Waterloo Road star hinted on Friday afternoon of trouble ahead as he observed passengers getting nervous before the British Airways flight had even taken off from London.
Manford wrote: 'On a very delayed flight to Belfast and just after the safety demo, a woman has told the crew she wants to get off! We're literally about to taxi and take off, and she just doesn't fancy it!
'I've seen too much Final Destination to not take this seriously!'
In London all of the Royal Parks including Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, plus Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens, were closed as officials tried to protect pedesterians from falling trees.
[SRC] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15165093/Cavers-brought-safety-30-hour-rescue-mission-got-trapped-underground-Storm-Amy-flooding.html
