MANILA, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Philippine Coast Guard on Wednesday refuted reports of an oil spill caused by a sunken Chinese cargo near northern Philippine waters.

    "There is no oil spill as our team has checked the area where the cargo reportedly went down," said Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo, adding that the search for the two missing is still underway.

    Previous local radio reports said oil leaking from the cargo spread over the sea surface nearby.

    The Panamanian-registered cargo "JIN SHAN", with 28 crew members on board, sunk off near the northern tip of Philippines' Luzon island on early Monday morning due to a leak on the crust.

    Twenty-six members of the crew were rescued by a Japanese oil tanker while the captain and the technical chief were missing.

    Balilo said the Philippine coast guards have not given up the search as a helicopter and a chopper are hovering over the area while a team of rescue vessels docked at a nearby port for back-up.