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A trio of cavers were successfully rescued after a subterranean mission extending over 30 hours throughout "terrible weather" amid Storm Amy.

The skilled explorers were stranded inside the challenging underground passage, close to the Yorkshire Dales.

Emergency services were alerted in the evening on Thursday after they didn't come back and a relative notified authorities.

Volunteer groups stated more than 100 responders participated in the "long and difficult" mission, that encountered difficulties because of storm impacts, water ingress, rough terrain plus prolonged time underground.

By the time the explorers were discovered during the night that Friday, swelling water conditions meant the most direct path became blocked, compelling the rescuers and the cavers to backtrack.

Operation commander detailed the way if they'd located the men just an hour or two earlier, they all could have been safely by morning.

"Unfortunately conditions took an unexpected turn in store," he said.

"The immediate danger is the water and, potentially in specific areas of the cave, drowning.

"Should flooding have worsened in those places, the situation would have become exceedingly dangerous."

Nearby caving teams were called for assistance, comprising multiple professional emergency groups.

Subterranean crews worked in relays to guide the exhausted cavers to the surface, while surface crews experienced "terrible conditions to maintain communication and handle supplies.

At a critical moment, rescue personnel built a dam with plastic sheeting to divert increasing waters past the access point.

First trapped individual was rescued around 3:30 PM that Friday, the second in the early morning Saturday morning and the last explorer a couple hours after.

None of them were hurt though the rescue leader stated they were completely drained after being cold and wet over two days.

"Requires resilient individuals to survive that experience," he said.

Rescue personnel concluded operations in the morning.

Even though tempest was anticipated to take effect from Friday afternoon, team leaders stated the expedition undertaken by the explorers had been "perfectly reasonable" accounting for their skill level along with meteorological situation on Thursday.

Nevertheless, heavy rain arrived earlier plus more intensely than predicted.

The men provided important specifics of their route – from Providence Pot to their destination – ahead of their expedition, with rescue coordinators said this "saved the day".

"Without that notification from the relative, it would have taken longer to notice these guys were overdue until somebody saw automobiles stationed outside the cave for a couple of days," he concluded.