The climbers, Aung Myint Myat and Wai Yan Min Thu, were part of a group of eight Burmese climbers attempting to make the first successful climb of Hkakabo Razi since 1996, when Japan's Takashi Ozaki and Nyima Gyaltsen (aka "Aung Tse") were the first ever to scale the summit.

According to their fellow team members, Aung Myint Myat and Wai Yan Min Thu were the only ones from the original group who made it to the top on August 31st. Shortly after reaching the summit their colleagues lost contact with the pair. The other climbers have already returned safely down the mountain.

According to DVB Tay Za, who remains on a US blacklist for his long standing ties to Burma's previous military regime and alleged involvement in weapons dealing, funded the climb. Last year he also funded a group of mostly American climbers who scaled another one of Kachin State's tallest mountains, Gamlang-Razi.

In February 2011, Tay Za was himself stranded on Fukan Razi—a mountain in northern Kachin State—  when bad weather forced his helicopter to land on the mountain. Tay Za and his crew were ultimately rescued after being stuck on the mountain for three days in extremely cold weather. At the time, General Than Shwe’s military government devoted a significant amount of resources to rescuing Tay Za.

Tay Za has extensive business interests in Putao District, a mountainous area rich in natural resources such as timber and minerals. The Irrawaddy Magazine reported last September that Tay Za was recently granted a 100,000 acre (40,000 hectare) logging concession in Putao District by government authorities. The new logging concession permits Tay Za to harvest a long stretch of pristine teak forest, which until recently was left largely untouched. Tay Za is also known to have extensive mining interests in Putao District and firms under his control have applied for permits to mine for gold and other minerals in the area.

During a ceremony in Naypyidaw in January 2013, representatives of Air Bagan and Asia Green Development Bank Limited—both owned by Tay Za—made a joint 70 million kyat (US $82,000) donation to support Burma Army troops taking part in offensives against the Kachin Independence Army. The donation, which came in the form a giant check, was quickly denounced by Kachin civil society groups and Kachin exiles such as the Kachin National Organization (KNO). These groups hold Tay Za responsible for encouraging Burma’s army to engage in a brutal and bloody conflict in Kachin State—a conflict that has already displaced over 120,000 civilians since 2011.