A previous report said 10 people died in the collision and 11 were injured.
An investigation showed that the crossing has a supervisor but was unguarded when the accident happened, according to local railway sources.
The supervisor, being informed too late, failed to reach the area in time to warn vehicles of the approaching train, a senior railway official in Heihe told Xinhua.
The railway safety administration authorities of Harbin, the provincial capital, have dispatched a team to investigate the accident