On 26 March, a reader sent us photographs and wrote:
Safety should come first—but what good are helmets if they are not attached to any rope as a precaution, on the basilica. You cannot see them being attached with harnesses, because if they were, they would probably be using proper “thick” harnesses, just in case.
We asked the owner of Tomczyk – Rafał Tomczyk, for comment. He explained that the workers were secured. He assured us that the workers were attached with so-called “harnesses” to a roof batten, which can be seen in one of the photographs. Additionally, for safety reasons, scaffolding had been set up below the area where the work was being carried out.
In the second photograph, one of the workers, who was climbing a ladder at the time, may have temporarily been unattached, but this was simply because he was moving. As for the thick harnesses, the company owner explained that they are no longer used. The safety equipment currently used consists of so-called “harnesses” and shock absorbers.
